Vacation!
by JadeWing
Summary: What happens when you take four Japanese 14-year-olds, three of which are the strongest magicians in the world, ship them off to California, sic five demented cards on them, and put two stalkers on their trail? Disneyland may never be the same...
1. Welcome to Corporate America

Vacation 

Vacation!

Chapter One: Welcome to Corporate America

Hallo! This is the vacation fic I was talking about! It's based _somewhat_ on my two-week trip to the sixth largest economy in the world. What am I talking about?

Why, the shining star of America!

The Gold State!

The state of adventure!

The state of insanity!

CALIFORNIA!

Beverly Hills ho!

Sakura's going to become a valley girl!

Okay, maybe not, but this is the new romantic comedy from JadeWing. And I still ::sob:: don't own it. T_T

Andiamo!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura

Tomoeda's schools never, ever took normal field trips.

I mean, of course it wasn't their fault. It just always ended up that we went to where a card was.

The zoo, for instance. It would have been a nice, normal, educational trip. I would have learned a lot about elephants. It would have been fun.

But then the Power Card attacked, and I ended up in a deadly game of tug-of-war. 

Then there was the trip to the coast. We _never_ went to the coast._ Ever._ But we went, and nearly everyone got zapped out. 

Even Syaoran.

__

God, that was scary.

So, anyway, Tomoeda never went on regular field trips. That point is established.

But this was over the top.

"Class, we're going to America!" Mr. Terada announced, clapping his hands together as Ms. Mitsuki stood by his side, smiling that odd little smile she always had. 

There was a thud as every jaw in the class of eighth graders dropped to the floor. Literally. Including mine.

"HOE?!"

Everyone snickered as I blushed, embarrassed. 

"We're going to America," he repeated. "More accurately, to California. It's the sixth largest economy in the world, and has one of the richest histories."

"Butit's so far away," Rika said slowly, still in shock.

"Well, that isn't a problem," he said delightedly. "We've got plenty of funding. Now, Sakura, hand these papers out to everyone. This is a general outline of the trip."

I mutely got up and took the stack of papers, then went up and down the rows of desks, passing them out as he continued. "On the first three days, we'll be camping in Northern California. On Wednesday, we'll fly down to Los Angeles. We'll be staying on Balboa Island for a week. We rented several houses, but all of you will have to share rooms. All that week, we'll be visiting several monumental places in southern California. On Thursday of that week, we'll be driving up to San Francisco, and we'll stay there for a few days, then drive up to Oakland and fly back."

I turned down my aisle, dropping the papers on people's desks. There was Tomoyo, then my desk, then Eriol, thenSyaoran. He took his from me, and our hands brushed momentarily, but I quickly sat down and studied the paper.

"So you're going, right?" Tomoyo asked animatedly. 

"Of course," I replied absentmindedly. "I think we can afford the fees."

"Okay. I hope we're roommates for Balboa," she said wistfully. 

"Yeah." I rested my chin on my hands, then lowered my voice. "What if something comes up while I'm gone, Tomoyo?"

"Sakura, I wanted to talk to you." Eriol sat down across me, sitting beside Tomoyo on the picnic bench as she blushed slightly. 

"About what?" I asked.

He frowned. "About missing cards. Clow Reed created another set of five cards, and they were never set free. But I don't know where they are, and I think someone might have let them out."

"But would that make _them_ a Card Captor too?" I asked, confused. 

"No, the book didn't take magic to open."

"Oh no" I rubbed my head. "Will they come after me?"

"Will what come after you?" Syaoran asked, coming over and eyeing Eriol suspiciously. _He still doesn't trust him_

"There's five cards out there that were another set to themselves," Tomoyo explained, "and Eriol thinks they've been set out. The book they were in didn't take magic to open, so they'll just go after Sakura."

"That's just great," he said sarcastically. "What cards are they?"

"The Opposite, the Riddle, the Repeat, the Inner Monologue, and the High," Eriol said smoothly, unruffled by Syaoran's tone. 

I rested my chin in my hands. "Well, what do they do?"

Eriol shrugged. "I don't know. Clow Reed didn't know either; he just made them from the existing forces left over from the Clow Cards. They're actually called the Leftover Cards."

"Leftover Cards? What kind of messed up name is that?" Mei Ling demanded, walking over. She was here for the week.

"It's the new cards I'm going to have to catch," I said wearily.

"As long as you stay away from Syaoran, and he doesn't get hurt," she said haughtily.

"Mei Ling, our engagement is _off,_" he reminded her, trying to pry her arms away from her neck.

"Don't say it like it's a good thing, Syaoran!" she whined.

He mumbled something that sounded oddly like It _is_ a good thing'

I stared at the sidewalk, walking out of the gate on my way out of school. How odd it was, knowing another set of cards existed. _What do they do? _I wondered. _Will they be hard to catch?_

How strong are they?

"Hey."

I looked up to see Syaoran and put on a cheery smile. "Hi!"

"What's the matter?" he asked. "You weren't looking so happy a little while ago."

I bit my lip, looking even more worried than I truly was. _This better work, Tomoyo_ "The new cards," I confessed. "I wish I knew more about them, like how strong they are and stuff."

"You can handle them," he said firmly. "You managed to handle everything else, Sakura."

"I know, but" I paused. _Good, get him interested._ _If you want his help, you're going to have to pretend you don't._

"But?" he asked.

"But" I visibly gulped. _Okay, interest has been caught._ "ButI just don't know"

"Know what?"

I didn't meet his eyes, the picture of worry and awkwardness, although in all fairness this was going exactly the way I wanted it to. And I _wasn't _really sure if I _could_ handle it on my own. "I don't know ifif I can do it."

"Sure you can," he said reassuringly. 

__

God, he's so sweet, I thought wistfully. _At least he's trying to cheer me up._ "But what if I can't?" _Just say you'll helpJust say you'll help_

"I'll help," he offered. "I mean, I'm not that much good, but—"

"You will?" I cut him off, seemingly disbelieving. "You really will?"

"Well, if you want me too," he said awkwardly. "Like I said, I'm not that much good, but—"

__

YES! YES! YES! I threw my arms around him. "Thank you so much!"

"Uh, any time"

I flopped down on my bed, smug. Tomoyo had said that would work, but I hadn't been so sure. I mean, if she was supposed to be the romance expert, why hadn't she managed to hook up with Eriol yet? _I've gotta ask her that sometime_

"Alright, what did I miss?" Kero demanded, flitting over.

"He's going to help me with the new cards!" I said blissfully. "I'll be able to spend even more time with Syaoran!"

"I didn't know they'd added another hour to the day," Kero said confusedly. "Don't you already spend all your time with him?"

"I wish" I sighed longingly.

"That's right, you just spend all your time _obsessing_ over that brat."

I picked up a nearby doll and chucked it at him, and he dodged it with ease. "I _do not! AND HE ISN'T A BRAT!_"

"And I don't even want to go into the stuff you say when you're asleep," he continued, taunting me. " Oh, Syaoranmore whipped cream'"

I blushed. "NO! DAMMIT, KERO! THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"And then there was the time where you said something about handcuffs and leather"

I got up, red-faced, and seized him by the neck before he could get away. "You're _lying,_" I growled. "Right? I _never_ had any of those dreams."

"Right! Lying!" he wheezed. "No dreams! No talking in your sleep! No whipped cream and orgies!"

"KERO!"

"Well, that's what you—"

__

Wham!

That was the sound heard as he was thrown into the wall. "That's another lie, _right?_" I hissed as he fell.

"Okay, I made it all up," he admitted, swirly-eyed. "But"  
"But _what?_"

"Um, nothing," he said hastily. "Tell me about this field trip you're going on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran

__

Ding dong!

I sat up early Saturday morning as the doorbell rang. _What's going on?_

Ding dong! Ding dong! Dingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdong!

What the hell?!

Grumbling, I got out of bed and went to the door, pulling it open. "What is—"

"GOOOOOOOOOOODDD MOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!" Tomoyo shrieked, her eyes wide as she bounced into my apartment, followed by Eriol and Sakura. I became acutely aware that I was standing by the door wearing a pair of sweatpants and little else.

"Is this a bad time?" Eriol asked innocently. "Maybe you and Mei Ling want some privacy"

"WHAT?!" I yelled, blushing. "I've told you all a million times! The engagement is _off,_ dammit! She went home! And why is everyone here?"

"Because we were all going to go down to the airport together, little descendant," Eriol said smugly. 

God, I hated that smirk of his.

"And when did we' agree to this?" I asked dryly, ignoring the little descendant' comment. 

For now.

He shrugged. "Whenever we did."

"I see." Running a hand through my hair, I said, "Just stay in here, and try to get Tomoyo to calm down. What did you do to her, anyway?"

"She discovered a love of coffee," Sakura explained.

"Ah." I sighed, looking around, and added, "I'm going to get dressed. Try not to break anything."

__

Crash!

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS!!!!" Tomoyo screamed, running in circles around the table.

I went back to my room, feeling like I could use some coffee myself.

"So whose bright idea was it to give her a cappuccino?" I asked as we all got onto the bus, our luggage down in the storage compartment.

"His."

"Hers."

Eriol and Sakura both pointed to each other as I sighed. For the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he could be amazingly immature sometimes.

And he was evil. I had never, ever questioned that.

For instance, there were four empty seats on the bus. He naturally took the one by Tomoyo, forcing me to sit by Sakura.

See, now that was evil.

He knew I was in love with her. He knew damn well that I wouldn't want to sit with her for just that reason, because then I wouldn't be able to keep myself from looking at her.

Of course, I could have just looked at her for the rest of my life and been perfectly content. 

But forcing me to sit next to herhe was evil.

And just to prove it, as soon as both Sakura and Tomoyo were both looking out the window, he pulled a few spools of string out of his pocket and flashed me a smirk. I gave him my glare, sending silently to him, _You try that here and nothing will keep me from killing you, my little ancestor._

Oh, but thread has so many uses, he shot back. _After all, it might actually force you into making a move on my cute little daughter there._

I pointedly balled a fist. _Don't make me come over there, you bastard._

Nice words to say to your ancestor, descendant.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing, he said smoothly. _Nothing at all._

It was going to be a long, long bus ride

It wasn't until we got into the airport itself at about nine thirty that I actually found his weakness.

Well, his _other_ weakness. Him and TomoyoI don't even want to go into how protective he gets of her. Have you got your cell phone?' Your bodyguards are coming with you, right?' Do you want some company?' Those penguins look vicious. Be careful.'

It's enough to make me sick.

But anyway, it was when we got inside that I found his Achilles heel. 

We wouldn't find out for some time. As it was, he had a hard enough experience at the metal detector.

__

Beep!

"Sir, will you please remove all items from your pockets and go through again?" the guard asked, boredom clear in his tone.

We waited for him to drop everything in the dish and stride through again.

__

Beep!

In the end, it took him five tries to get through. After that, he had picked up his backpack and was about to swing it on his back when barking filled the air and a dog started howling its head off, sniffing it. For a minute I thought some pet had gotten loose, until my eyes traveled up the leash attached to its collar and landed on the stony-faced police officer grimly looking down at Eriol.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, drawing alongside me. We'd both passed the detector without a hitch. 

"Eriol's got something the dog likes," Yamazaki said dryly. "Did you know that—"

"YAMAZAKI!"

__

Wham!

"Sir, come with us."

__

A little help here? Eriol mentally sent. 

__

You're the reincarnation, I retorted. _Besides, we don't know what all you've got in there._

"Sir." The officer raised an eyebrow. "Come with us. Now."

I couldn't hide a smirk as he resignedly followed the stony official.

"Syaoran!" Sakura slapped me lightly on the shoulder. "This isn't funny! He could be in serious trouble!"

"He can't be," Tomoyo assured her, adding nervously, "can he?"

"I don't k-know," Sakura said nervously. We all followed them and waited outside the door. 

After fifteen tensely silent minutes, Eriol came out, his face placid and glass smooth, looking as congenial as usual. "Just a little misunderstanding," he said innocently. 

"Did they find all of the cocaine, or just the bag you hid in the suitcase lining?" I asked semi-sarcastically. 

"Neither," he replied, not missing a beat, "but I'd watch out for the dogs if I were _you. _They're very sensitive to what you call 'incense.'"

"Eriol, that isn't very nice!"

"Will both of you stop fighting?" Sakura scowled. "We've got a plane to catch! Come on!"

We all caught a tram to the gate, and checked in. We were waiting in the pleather/metal seats when I noticed Eriol was turning pale. 

Well, paler than usual.

"Something wrong?" I asked dryly.

"What—no, nothing," he said, his voice slightly choked.

__

He's agitated about something, but what?

"Flight 207, Tokyo to Oakland, boarding now."

He jumped, sweat breaking out on his face.

__

What is going on? I scowled. The last thing we needed was a powerful sorcerer who was more on edge than if he'd drank a case of Red Bulls. 

"Come on, you guys." Sakura and Tomoyo stood up, and everybody followed them. Mr. Terada handed us each a ticket as I felt a tiny flare of magic from Eriol. _Maybe he's just calming himself down,_ I told myself, trying to actually trust him with difficulty.

__

Or maybe he's pulling one of his stunts.

"I've got 15-A, Tomoyo," Sakura called, turning around. "Is that a window seat?"

"I think it is," she replied, looking at her own. "I've got 16-A. We'll be across from each other."

I looked at mine and blanched, realizing exactly what Eriol had been up to.

15-B.

__

Eriol, you son of a **bitch!**

Maybe I could trade with someonethere was no way in hell I'd be able to sit next to Sakura for that long

"Ticket, please?" a flat-toned attendant asked. It was too late to do anything. I handed it to her, and she tore off part of it and handed me the rest. "Enjoy your flight."

I could hardly hold on to my bag, feeling dizzy. Fourteen hours straight of being with Sakura. God had a funny sense of humor.

__

Wait, no. Eriol does.

Sakura was already in her seat, which, sure enough, was by the window. She'd put on a pair of headphones and was drumming the back of the seat in front of her; it was fortunate it was empty. Her eyes were squeezed shut as I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling butterflies erupt in my stomach. 

"Hurry up, Li," came a shaky voice from behind me.

I turned and glared at Eriol, who was looking positively green, but said nothing and dropped into my seat.

"Oh, hi!" Sakura took off her headphones, and immediately the cabin was filled with music blaring from the earpieces as everyone turned and stared at her. Seeing their looks, she shrugged innocently and asked, "What?" Turning to me, she asked, "You don't mind if I've got the window seat, right?"

"Nope," I said simply.

"What?"

"Nope."

"What?"

"No, I don't." I raised my voice a notch.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you!"

"I don't mind," I said louder.

"What?"

__

"I don't mind!" I yelled.

There was silence as, for the second time, everyone turned around and stared. Sakura waved and smiled, then cheerfully said, "Okay!" then put her headphones back on.

"Having fun?"

I jumped and whirled to find Eriol sitting in the seat across the aisle, next to Tomoyo. He was smirking, despite the fact that he looked ready to throw up.

"May I have your attention please." The stewardess picked up the microphone and went through the entire speech, her voice tone not differing even once. "Thank you. I hope you enjoy your flight."

__

Oh, yes. It'll be a riot.

There was a rumble as the engines roared to life under us. Then, to my surprise, I heard a strange, gagging noise to my right.

Eriol had the armrest in a death grip, staring at the back of the seat in front of him with pupils dilated in fear.

Then his eyes landed on the laptop Yamazaki was using.

"The—the—the laptop," he stuttered. "T-t-turn it off!"

"What?" He turned around.

"It'll mess up the takeoff!" Eriol choked. "Turn it off!"

"It's okay," Yamazaki began.

"TURN IT OFF!" he yelled, white-faced. "JUST DO IT!"

For once, I actually saw Yamazaki's eyes open in surprise. Speechless, he shut it off, then lowered the screen and put it in his bag, then held up his hands. 

We started to roll forward, then came to the straight part of the runway. 

"Stop the plane," Eriol croaked. "I want to get off."

"What?" Tomoyo looked worriedly over at him.

"Stop the plane," he repeated tensely, his eye twitching.

I blinked, then realized what the problem was. He was afraid of flying.

We shot down the runway, and he almost whimpered. _Whimpered._ The high and mighty Eriol.

Then we left the ground, and he screamed outright.

"We're going to die, we're going to de, we're going to die," he repeated over and over, hiding his face in his hands.

__

Oh my god, this is priceless.

"We're going to run out of fuel and crash and burn in the middle of the ocean," he said helplessly. "I don't want to die again."

Soon, we reached the cruising altitude, and the minute we weren't tilted up, he became convinced that we were falling.

I held in laughter and let Tomoyo 'console' him. If I tried to say anything, I'd be too tempted to say something that wouldn't help, like 'If we crash, they'll never find our bodies.'

"Did you know that approximately one in three planes crashes?" Yamazaki's voice carried easily from three rows up.

"YAMAZAKI!"

__

Wham!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Eriol _wailed_ and actually burst into tears.

Tears. From Eriol.

The boy who'd nearly killed either Sakura or I repeatedly.

Sakura took off her headphones again and gaped at him. "What's the matter?"

"He doesn't like flying," I said, unable to keep a trace of laughter out of my voice.

"Oh." 

"Dude, are we seriously flying?" A yellow form shot out of Sakura's back, his voice raised. "DUDE! SCHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTT!!!!!!!"

Sakura blanched, hissing, _"Kero?!"_

People were about to turn around and stare at him, and there was no way Sakura could use the Erase card on a plane full of people.

"Syaoran, distract them for me!" she said hurriedly, unbuckling her belt and standing, ready to go after him.

I did the first thing that came to mind.

Which, coincidentally, was to pull out a scroll and use the wind magic.

The cabin shook violently, but not enough to knock us off course. It was like bad turbulence; nothing more.

By the time the wind struck, Sakura had caught Kero and was scrambling back. The sudden impact made her stumble—and sprawl over my lap.

I blushed furiously, but she had gotten back to her feet within seconds, and the shaking stopped.

Across the aisle, there was a horrendous noise as Eriol made good use of one of the barf bags. 

Inwardly smirking, I leaned back against the chair. Maybe this flight wouldn't be so bad, after all.

__

I can't wait for the return trip.

[AN: See? I've told you all a million times! SYAORAN IS EVIL! EEEEEEEEVVVVVIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!]

After a little while, Sakura took pity on him—I sure as hell didn't, but _she_ did—and secretly used the Sleep Card. The spirit didn't even appear; the only indication it had worked was that there were a few blue sparkles, and he fell asleep.

I sighed. My best source of entertainment was gone.

The hours ticked by, and I could feel my legs cramping up. I read a book, while Sakura still listened to her CD player, drumming her fists on the armrests and any available surface. 

The sunset came and passed as Eriol snored loudly, drawing laughter from the people around us.

Until he didn't stop.

Three straight hours of _SGNAAAAK_, and I was ready to crack. My ears were ringing and I had one of the biggest headaches known to man.

"That's it," I muttered. Pulling out my handkerchief, I stuffed it into his open mouth and relished the silence. Several people applauded. Sakura blinked, then went back to her drumming, her knuckles red.

Soon, it was about nine o'clock. Most of the people had fallen asleep, and I was feeling tired myself. Sakura was still happily drumming away, her fists lobster-red.

Then, something happened. She pressed a button on the CD player, took her headphones off, and put them away, then leaned back and closed her eyes.

I blinked once, then twice.

She wasn't drumming.

Instead, she was sitting still.

I was tempted to feel her forehead and see if she had a temperature. That was not normal. 

But then her breathing slowed, and I realized she'd been tired and fallen asleep.

__

God, she's pretty when she's asleep.

Blushing, I went back to my book, but I couldn't focus on the words. They didn't come together like normal; my mind didn't focus on the letters like it should have been. Instead, it was focusing on Sakura.

My face was getting warmer and warmer as I tried to think of something—anything—else.

Then Sakura brought her knees up on the cushion and leaned on me, still asleep.

I could have sworn that my face was going to burst into flames, it was so hot. 

I drew in a shaky breath, then put down my book, closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep myself. There was an electronic buzz nearby, however, that was bothering meI scowled, pried my eyes open, and instinctively looked over at Tomoyo. 

There it was.

The machine of Satan.

The round, glassy, black eye stared at me, unblinking. 

I glared at her, mouthing 'Turn it _off!_'

She stared, horrified at me, mouthing back, _'Off?'_

I gave her my glare, and she frowned, then pressed a button on it and the light vanished.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes, leaning back against the seat.

__

Whirrrrrrr.

My eyes snapped open as she hurriedly turned it off again. Pointedly pulling out one of the magic scrolls, I looked pointedly at her, then put it away and tried, for the third time, to get some sleep.

I could have sworn, before I lost all consciousness, I heard a whispered "KAWAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!"

When we staggered into the airport at 1:30 am our time and 5:30 am theirs, I was more than ready to find a nice hotel and sleep for the next three days straight.

Then I looked around. Almost every square inch was covered in bright, colorful advertisements.

Eriol drew alongside me, looking haggard. "Welcome to Corporate America," he said dryly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so how was that for a first chapter? It gets fairly interestingafter this, the cards start attacking, and the first one iswell, I can't really tell you, cuz that would be cheating. But the next chapter's funny! ^_~


	2. High Hopes

Vacation 

Vacation!

Chapter Two: High Hopes

Okay, I'm still recovering from a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long day of High School, but I will not give up! I don't own this, but I will not give up!

~_^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Welcome to Corporate America," Eriol said wearily.

"Our luggage is going to the hotel," Mr. Terada said over the noise. "Everybody stay together." He turned to Ms. Mizuki and asked her something, and she nodded. "There's a bus waiting for us, so just follow Ms. Mizuki."

She led the way through the airport and to the bus stop, and we all piled in, bleary-eyed. 

And, despite the fact that he had spent the last seven hours in a nauseated stupor, Eriol did it again.

See, we were on the bus, and he and I were the last ones to get on. And, of course, there were two seats left—one by Tomoyo, and one by Sakura. I knew it wasn't a coincidence. 

And guess which one Eriol took?

So I was sitting next to Sakura, who was barely awake like all of us, and yet again blushing my head off.

That seemed to be happening a lot. 

I don't remember much of the bus trip. We were all too exhausted to even look outside, and a lot of us fell asleep during the half-hour drive. Sakura was one of them; she went out like a light and leaned on my shoulder again. I ignored Eriol's wicked grin and closed my eyes, figuring that if I fell asleep I wouldn't have to listen to the next thirty minutes of 'Let's see who's the biggest flirt, Eriol or Tomoyo.'

When I woke up, we were pulling into the hotel parking lot and people were starting to pick up their bags. I didn't even want to think about what time it was. We'd already been assigned rooms for the night, so it wasn't too hard to find which one I was in and basically pass out on the bed. 

When I woke up, at first I didn't know where I was. And I knew the clock could not possibly be accurate; it simply could not be three o'clock in the afternoon. Dragging my watch from the table nearby, I squinted at it. 11:00.

__

Something is definitely messed up here.

There was a shadow flickering across the bed. I sat up and looked out the window; finding palm trees, I remembered.

I was in California. Not just that, but in California with Sakura, Tomoyo, and Satan. Also known as Eriol.

I wasn't sure whether to hop on the next plane and fly far, far away or knock him out, mail him back to England, and enjoy the rest of the trip.

__

Thump!

Something hit the other side of the wall I was leaning against, and I jumped.

__

"Hoeeeeeeeeee!"

Sakura?

"Kero, go away!"

__

None other

"But Sakura"

"You _can't_ stay here! I thought we agreed that you were going to wait at home!"

"I did wait!"

"No you didn't!"

"I waited," he argued, "for exactly thirty seconds."

"Kero, if you don't go back _now,_ I'll _make_ you."

"I won't. And how exactly do you propose to 'make' me?"

"Like this." 

There was a small flare of magic and a few muffled shouts, and then silence from the other room.

"Hoeeeeee."

__

Well, that's one less problem

We spent the day driving up to where we were going to camp. At about six o'clock, we stopped in the middle of a state park and started unloading the gear. 

As soon as it was all out, Mr. Terada called for our attention. "Now, listen. We're putting our trust in you and maturity. There is _one_ person for every tent, not two, and—" he coughed "—no one should be sleeping two to a tent. Do you understand?"

I could have sworn he was looking pointedly at me and Sakura.

There were more than a few red faces as everyone nodded. "Good. Then get your tents set up, everyone."

I took the one he handed me and tried to find what looked like the quietest place. It wasn't too hard to set up the tent at all.

Or at least, it wasn't for me.

__

Clang!

I looked over and saw Eriol scowling at the poles in his hand. 

__

What, the Prince of Darkness never went camping?

Mentally shrugging, I threw my stuff inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had my tent up within a matter of minutes. It wasn't hard—Touya and Dad had taken me camping lots of times, so it was all old hat to me. 

My face warmed as I remembered Mr. Terada's words from before. Unless I was sadly mistaken, he had been pointedly looking at Syaoran and I, like we were going out or something. 

__

Ha, I wish

I pushed my bag into the corner and sat back, satisfied. My pillow was at the head of the tent; the window was open at the end for a little fresh air; the sleeping bag was unrolled; and essentially, everything was perfect. 

Crawling out, I went to help with whatever needed to be done. _Last time we were doing this, it was at the beach_

"I'm done. What can I do?" I asked Mr. Terada.

"Um" He frowned in thought. "Help Ms. Mizuki with dinner, I guess."

"Okay," I said cheerfully, going over to where she was starting a fire in the fire ring. "What are we making?"

"I think we're looking at stew tonight," she said thoughtfully. "Want to peel some potatoes?"

"Sure. Let me get my apron." I ran back to the tent and tied it on, then pulled my hair away from my face with a kerchief. Going back, I saw she already had a pot of water going and picked up some potatoes and a peeler. _Let's see if I remember how to do this_

Soon, a pile of peelings decorated the ground. More people had come to join us, and soon the smell of stew was spreading through the clearing. 

As soon as I'd peeled the potatoes and there wasn't anything more I could do that someone else wasn't already doing, I helped Yamazaki get the lights up. We had lanterns on a cord, because once the sun set, they and the fire were going to be our only sources of light.

"Hey, Yamazaki, we need you!" someone yelled. 

"I'm busy!" he yelled back. 

"Well, get someone to take your place!"

"Just a sec!" He looked around, then seized the nearest person. "Hey, Syaoran, take over for me, okay?" Dropping the cord into is hand, he dashed off before Syaoran could even say anything. 

I wrapped a cord around a tree branch, pretending not to notice my partner had changed. There was one lantern left on the end of the cord I had, and the next tree I could hang the cord from was about ten feet away. It was a sturdy-looking maple. 

The only problem was that the closest branch was about twenty feet up. As weird as it was, all the others grew on the other side of the trunk, and it was the only one that the cord could reach.

__

I can get to that, I thought determinedly. _No biggie._

I tied the end of the cord to my belt loop and pulled myself up onto the lowest branch, then looked up. Three more branches to go, and then I'd be at the one I needed. 

Wrapping a hand around a smaller branch, I hauled myself up to the next one, then stood on that and reached for the next one. It was well within my reach; getting onto it wasn't a problem. 

Now I had to get to the branch on the other side of the trunk. From up here, it didn't look quite as sturdy, but I could manage. 

I got onto that branch and found it _wasn't_ as strong as I'd thought. No matter; I needed to get the cord around it. 

I got shakily to my feet and reached up for the branch overhead to keep myself steady. Inching slowly down the bough, I tried to ignore the quivering beneath my feet and concentrate.

"Sakura, what are you doing?!"

I looked down and saw Syaoran watching me. "I'm putting the cord up here! What do you think?"

He was about to respond when there was a sharp crack and the branch fell from under my feet. My one-handed grip automatically tightened on the bough I was holding, but it wasn't going to last. 

__

Can I make it to another branch? I wondered. My fingers slipped on the rough bark, and I dropped a little. 

Looking down, I realized that if I fell, I wouldn't get too hurt—it wouldn't feel good, and I'd have more than a few bruises, but I probably wouldn't get hurt. And I could probably make it to another branch soon. There wasn't any reason to panic. 

My free hand worked the cord loose from my belt loop and cinched it around the branch I was hanging from. I grinned to myself, thinking about how outrageous it must have looked to the people on the ground. 

Then I lost my hold on the branch.

I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting a very big _ouch_ to be coming my way very soon.

__

Thump!

Instead, someone caught me. "Are you _crazy?_" a familiar voice demanded.

"That's very debatable," I answered dazedly, forcing my eyes open. "At the moment, I sincerely doubt it, though." A face swam into view.

"I don't," Syaoran muttered darkly. 

"Hey, on the bright side, all the lights are up," I said, trying to hide a blush as I heard giggles from the small crowd that had formed around us. 

"Is everyone all right?" Ms. Mizuki asked anxiously. "What happened?"

"The branch Sakura was on broke," Tomoyo started.

"And Syaoran caught her," finished Eriol.

"Oh. Well, then, if nothing's broken, everyone back to work." The people went back to whatever they'd been doing before and he set me down. 

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded, still trying not to blush and failing miserably. "Thanks."

"Try not to fall out of any more trees, okay?" He sighed. 

I smiled. "I'll try." About to add something else, I felt a small flicker of magic that _wasn't_ Eriol and jumped. 

"Did you feel that?" Syaoran asked lowly.

"Yeah," I said distractedly. "But what—" Then it hit me.

"A Leftover Card," we said grimly at the same time.

"Hey, Sakura! Help us with the carrots!"

I inwardly sighed. "Talk to you later." 

"Okay."

I went off to the cook fire, irate. 

About three hours past sunset, the storm hit. 

It wasn't a rainstorm; there was only thunder and lightning.

But it still scared the _shit_ out of me.

It was around ten o'clock West Coast time, and I was huddled in my tent, hiding under my pillow. Lightning cast eerie shadows over the clearing as I cowered in the sleeping bag. _I hate storms_

An explosion of thunder overhead made me jump. Swallowing, I tried to bury my fear and failed. 

The fire popped, the soft sound ringing in the thunder's wake. _Maybe if I sit outside, I can get my mind off the storm._

And that way, if lightning strikes a tree, then I can get out of the way in time before it falls on me and crushes me and I burn to death and—

Pulling on a sweater, I scrambled out of the tent and made my way to the fire. Ms. Mitsuki and Mr. Terada had told us that if we couldn't sleep, we could sit by the fire as long as we didn't stay up all night. 

I wasn't alone. A shadowy figure was staring broodingly into the flames, quiet. There was a snap as a twig broke under my foot, and they whirled around. 

It was Syaoran. Seeing me, he relaxed. "What are you doing up?"

"I don't like storms," I admitted, sitting on a log. 

"You don't?" he asked, surprised. "What about the Thunder Card?"

"I knew it was magic, and something I could stop," I said lowly. "But I can't really do anything about this."

"Oh." He was quiet for a minute. "There isn't much to be afraid of, though."

"Yes there is!" I protested. "What if lighting strikes a tree and we all burn to death? What if a tree falls on me? What if—"

"That almost never happens." The dancing flames cast shadows over his face. "Lightning doesn't hit anything most of the time, and when it _does_ hit, it hits the tallest thing nearby, which is usually a tree, and nothing burns up other than that tree because it's too tall for the fire to reach the trees below it." I blinked as he continued. "It's really just like a bunch of fireworks. There's noise and light, and then it's over."

"I never thought of it that way." I rested my chin on my knees, feeling a lot of my fear disappear. _Just like fireworks_ "Have you sensed anything yet?"

"On the Leftover Card?" He shook his head. "Not yet."

"I wonder which one it is" Opposite, Repeat, High, Riddle, and Inner Monologue Which one would it be? What would it do?

__

I wish I knew

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked over at Sakura and found she'd fallen asleep. _Big surprise._ She'd had more than enough to worry her today.

But now what was I going to do? I wasn't going to leave her out here by herself, but she couldn't sleep out here in the cold all night either. And I didn't want to wake her up.

Sighing, I stood and picked her up, then carried her back to her tent. 

On my way back, I caught a flash of red in the corner of my eye, and my heart sank. 

I turned and saw the little red light shining through a small gap in the tent flap. 

The only thing in the world that was more evil than Eriol was that camera.

I shot the lens a death glare and stalked off to my tent, face burning.

The next morning was somewhat uneventful. Eriol told us he'd sensed the Card yesterday too, and we tried to think of which one it could be, but none of them seemed more probable than the others.

"What does the High Card do?" Sakura asked. "Make things fly into the air?"

"Either that or something like that," Eriol said thoughtfully. "It doesn't sound too dangerous."

"That's what you always say," I informed him dryly. "And somehow, we always end up running from something that's ready to kill us."

He shrugged innocently, the picture of virtue.

I ran a hand through my hair, exasperated.

It was about three o'clock when things started getting more interesting. 

The teachers had had to go into town—someone had come down with the flu, and they needed medicine—and they had left Yamazaki in charge. Things were normal and quiet for a little while.

And then it changed.

There was a flare of magic, and I sat up. A moment later, someone started singing, their voice off-key. 

"I was gonna clean my roomuntil I got high"

A second voice joined the first. "I was gonna get up, and find the broombut then I got hiiiiiiiiiiiiigh"

I scrambled out of my tent just as Sakura stumbled past, giggling. "My room is still messed up, and I know why," she sang, her eyes bloodshot.

"Because I got high, because I got high, because I got hiiiiiigh" Eriol yelled back as he tripped over a stump, landed on his face, and got back up. 

They linked arms and strode around the campsite, bellowing at the top of their lungs.

"I was gonna go to class, but then I got high!"

"I could've cheated, and I could've passed, but then I got hiiiIIiiiiIIIiiigh"

"I'm takin' the next semester, an' I know why"

"Because I got high," they yelled together, "because I got high, because I got high."

I stared, dumbstruck, as they paraded down the rows of tents.

"I was gonna go to court"

"But then I got high"

"I was gonna pay my child support"

"But then I got high"

"They took my whole paycheck and I know why"

"Because I got high, because I got high, _because I got high_"

They turned around as I realized exactly what it was. 

The High Card. 

__

So much for throwing things in the air.

People were laughing, thinking it was just some kind of joke—or that they really were high, which was not too far from the truth.

"I wasn't gonna run from the cops, but I was high" Sakura crowed.

"I was gonna PULL right over and STOP, _but I was HIIIIGH_" Eriol howled back.

"Now I'm a paraplegic, and _I know why..._ Yay-hay, because I got high—"

"Because I got high—"

__

"Because I got highLa di da ta da dada da"

Sakura stumbled forward, then fell face-down at my feet. Rolling over, she looked straight up at me and yelled, "I was gonna make love to you, but then I got high"

I swear to this day that my face never got hotter in my life, and never will. 

"I was gonna eat your –_bleep!—_too, but then I got high"

"Now I'm _bleeping bleep-bleep,_ and I KNOW WHY"

"Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high"

"LA DI DA TA DADA DA!"

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" Eriol chanted, seemingly intensely proud of himself.

"I messed up my entire life, because I got high," Sakura informed everyone, getting to her feet.

"I lost my kids and wife," Eriol sang mournfully, "because I got high"

"Now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk, and I know why, yeah-hay"

"Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high"

"Now I'm gonna stop singin' this song, because I'm high"

"I'm singin' this whole thing wrong, cuz I'm high"

"And if I don't sell one copy, _I'll know why!"_

"BECAUSE I'M HIGH," Eriol sang, badly out of tune.

"BECAUSE I'M HIGH," Sakura echoed, leaning heavily on him.

__

"BECAUSE I'M HIGH," they finished together, holding the last note out.

There was total and utter silence; then Yamazaki started clapping and everyone joined in.

Blinking, I shook my head and marched over to where Sakura and Eriol were both laughing their heads off for no apparent reason and seized them both by their elbows. "Come on."

Tomoyo, realizing what it was, came over and hauled Eriol to his feet as people went back into their tents. He giggled—I'm not kidding, he seriously giggled—and sat back down, pulling her off balance. She fell across his lap as I stifled a snort of laughter. 

Sakura yanked her elbow out of my grip and scowled at me. "I don't wanna go!"

"Yes you do," I told her firmly. "Come on."

She sullenly got to her feet, then stared at me. My eyes narrowed as I wondered what the Card was going to make her do next.

Grabbing me by the front of my shirt, she kissed me. 

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and I blushed furiously.

__

I think I like this Card

NO! NO! This is **so** not right!

I pulled away, hearing laughter from Tomoyo, and seized her wrist again. "Come on, Sakura."

"You _loooooove_ me," she slurred, sitting with a thump in the dirt. "You think I'm _gooooorrrrrgeous._ You want to _daaaaaaaaaaate_ me."

__

This is going nowhere

"I'm not arguing with that," I said under my breath, running a hand through my hair once more.

"Come on, Eriol." Tomoyo dragged him to his feet again. "Syaoran, just pick her up or something. We need to get them out of here."

I blanched, then looked down at where Sakura was blankly staring at me, her eyes pink. _It doesn't look like I really have a choice_ With a sigh, I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder, following Tomoyo. 

"Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyy, put me _down!_"

I ignored her protests. _Dear god, don't let her remember this_

When we reached another clearing, I set her down and turned to Tomoyo. "We've got to get them out of this, but how?"

She frowned in thought. "Will it wear off?"

"I don't know." I tried to think of anything that would get them out of whatever haze they were in; and then an idea came to me. "Stand back, I've got an idea."

Tomoyo moved back as I pulled out my sword and summoned wind. If the High referred to smoking, wouldn't wind blow the smoke away?

Wind swirled around both of them, then vanished, and they straightened, blinking. Smoky, multi-colored magic drifted away from them and formed a shape, then settled into the Card's true form: a woman wearing bell-bottoms, a headband going across her forehead, and a tie-die t-shirt. Her long hair was wavy and her eyes hidden behind tinted sunglasses, and her hands were both making peace signs. _A hippie. Howoriginal._

"What—is that?" Sakura said slowly, shaking her head as though to clear it. 

"It's the High Card," said Tomoyo. "Seal it before it gets anyone else!"

Sakura pulled out the key and transformed it into her wand, then sealed and transformed the Card. She was staring at the new Card in her hand when her eyes closed and she fainted. I caught her before she hit the ground. "I thought this wasn't going to be a problem," I said, irritated that this meant she was draining her power so low again. 

Eriol shrugged, standing up. "It takes a lot of strength to both seal and transform a Card in the same day."

"No kidding," I muttered.

"Well?" Tomoyo asked. "Are you just going to leave her there?"

"What?!"

"Well, someone's going to have to carry her back," Eriol said matter-of-factly.

"And unless you want _him_ to take her" Tomoyo trailed off pointedly.

I seemed to be doing a lot of blushing lately. 

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Rolling my eyes, I picked her up.

I also seemed to be carrying Sakura a lot lately too.

They crashed through the underbrush ahead, going faster than I could—and I knew it was on purpose. In a minute, they'd vanished completely.

Sighing, I stepped over a root, trying to control my blush and not succeeding in the slightest. 

Something snared my foot and almost yanked it out from under me, making me stumble and bringing my face perilously close to Sakura's.

Gaining my balance once more, I stopped and studied the surroundings, suspicious. Nothing—

And then I saw it.

__

KNOCK IT OFF! I yelled mentally, pissed off. My 'voice' was as loud in the mental sense as a bullhorn was in your ear.

There was a thud as something fell from a tree nearby, hidden until now. It landed close to where I saw the little red light shining through the leaves of a bush.

I was more than tempted to fry that camera with lightning. The only problem was that she'd just buy another one. 

__

I swear I'm going to go crazy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man peered through the underbrush, watching as the young teenage girl hit something with her wand.

__

Magic?

Automatically, his mind snapped to the only possible conclusion.

__

Magic means she's using the forces of EVIL. If she's using EVIL, then

THAT GIRL IS SATAN!

Horrified, he stared as the young man picked her up. _She must have him under her spell—him and the rest of their group!_

What could he do? If thisthis Satanica wasn't stopped, she would spread her evil lies and themes of deceit and seduction to the entire world!

But yet, no one would believe himAfter all, when was the last time one of Satan's manifestations made themselves so open? They were tricky; sly and cunning. He would have to be careful with this girl, this evil girl—careful to not fall in her web of seduction and lies

And he would have to kill her

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, that's chapter two! What did you think? ducks as tomatoes and other rotten, disgusting vegetables are thrown at her WELL AT LEAST I TRIED! Gimme some credit! You have to admit, the 'Cuz I got high' was pretty original! gets glared at IT WAS **TOO **ORIGINAL! I DIDN'T COPY IT OR ANYTHING! SO XP!

^_^ Adiosity!


	3. Riddle Me This

Vacation 

Vacation!

Chapter Three: Riddle Me This

Okay, so who liked the last chapter? I thought it was kind of funnyokay, okay, maybe notanyway, who wants the next chapter? Sakura and Syaoran walk in

Syaoran: takes one look YOU. points finger at JadeWing You are _SATAN._ I'VE LOST COUNT OF HOW MANY TIMES YOU'VE KILLED ME OFF!

Sakura: And me! I mean, I died in 'Beyond the Warrior', 'Catatonia,' technically I died in 'Shin no Chikara' cuz I was a reincarnation, I nearly committed suicide–in fact, I _did_ commit suicide but Syaoran saved me–in 'Step Back From the Ledge', I get the crap beaten out of me in 'Stone and Starfire' MULTIPLE times–and in that one people keep and trying to screw me too–and then in 'A Camp Adventure Gone Wrong' I nearly die–what is it–three times? Four? Five? 

Syaoran: counts on fingers Well, there's that time that the Control Card pulled you off the dock, and then it nearly drowned you again in the middle of the night, and then _you_ nearly killed us god-knows-how-many times when we were flying through the trees And then you fell and got your leg all messed up in the middle of the night, and I had to carry you back. And then you walked out on the lake, and then after that you tried to beat Chisami for no apparent reason, and then she nearly drowned you, and then you nearly walked off the cliff, and then she nearly suffocated you with those weed things. I think that was about it.

Sakura: glares at JadeWing That's, like, twenty-three times. YOU NEARLY KILL ME TWENTY-THREE TIMES IN ONE STORY AND ALL WE GET IS ONE KISSY SCENE?!?!?!

Me: Wellhe does kiss you while you're asleep in the fifth chapter

Sakura: What?!

Syaoran: blushes

Me: And then there's that one time where he's all possessed by Hane and you're possessed by Chisami and they make out and then they leave and you're still sticking your tongues down eachother's throats.

both blush really hard

Me: Not to mention those two times when he has to give you mouth-to-mouthand then in the ninth chapter, that thing is so freakin sappy it almost makes me nauseous. Of course, I could be nauseated right now because all I've had to eat all day is Halloween candy ^_^ 

Syaoran: gives JadeWing disgusted look You are _sick._

Sakura: looks at upcoming chapter AAAH! _WHAT_ THE?!

Syaoran: picks up script and reads some, then chokes YOU NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP, JADEWING! I AM **NOT** JOKING!

Sakura: takes closer look, than starts laughing her ass off _Peach_ fuzz? _Fun land?_ My GOD, woman, what are you _on?_

Me: shrugs Well, depends. I like to color-code my pills with what I'm wearing and–

Sakura: O.o

Me: Well, hey, look, we're out of time. Better get that chapter started!

Syaoran: coughs What do we say?

Me: mumbles

Syaoran: Louder.

Me: mumbles a little louder

Syaoran: I can't hear you!

Me: screams at him I DON'T $%&@%^$@!@%$@#$%@%##@^&@# OWN THIS! OKAY? ARE YA **HAPPY** NOW? bursts into tears and hides in corner

Sakura: Gee, now I feel kinda bad.

Me: looks up That's okay, you can just give me a couple hundred grand for therapy! ^_^

Syaoran: Ha ha NO.

Me: Damn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

I don't feel very good

A headache was pounding in my head, so I just squeezed my eyes shut tighter, burrowing into the pillow. The voices around me were quiet and infrequent, and I tried to think of who was speaking.

"How long did she sleep when she was changing them?" That sounded like Ms. Mizuki.

"Well, sometimes it's just for a few hours." _Tomoyo?_

"But sometimes for a lot longer." A trace of resentment crept into the speaker's voice. "But she would have to use the Card right after, thanks to whatever _he_ had come up with." _Syaoran. That's definitely Syaoran._ Inwardly, I laughed. _He's still pissed at Eriol for all those things he did to us._

"I was just assisting my daughter." Eriol's tone was smooth and unruffled. "With this, I would guess she sleeps for another hour or so."

__

Dammit, there's no way I can sleep. Looks like I've gotten off **this** Dreamland Express

"Sorry, you don't win the prize," I groaned, forcing my eyes open. "I hope you weren't counting on that teddy bear." Sitting up, I asked dazedly, "What happened?"

"You caught and sealed a Card," Tomoyo answered.

"Which one?" I rubbed my eyes, still tired.

She and Syaoran exchanged strange looks. "The High," he said slowly.

"The High?" I frowned. "But I don't remember it coming or anything."

"You and Eriol were, uh, attacked by it," Syaoran explained.

I blanched. "Oh my godwhat did I do?"

He had a sudden coughing fit and Tomoyo paused, then said, "I'lltell you later, okay?"

__

That bad?!

Oh, no

"I'll be right back," Ms. Mizuki said suddenly, standing up. She went out as I watched.

"Hold on, I need to get something." Tomoyo got up as I noticed we were in a tent that was a _lot_ bigger than mine. _Must be Ms. Mizuki's._ "Eriol, can you come with me?"

"Sure." He followed her out.

Which, by no means coincidentally, left me and Syaoran alone.

__

She is **so** dead once I get my hands on her

My vision wavered, and I put a hand on the ground to steady myself.

"You okay?" Syaoran asked, concerned.

"Yeah," I said distractedly. "Fine." Dizziness overwhelmed me, and I closed my eyes, trying to hold onto consciousness.

"No, you aren't fine." I heard a rueful sigh. "You need more rest. Go back to sleep, Sakura."

"I'm seriously okay!" I pried my eyes open as everything around me went black.

Someone caught me as I collapsed and eased me back down. The last thing I heard was a murmured "Liar"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I slept for the rest of the day, then woke up the next morning and remembered that today we were flying down to Los Angeles.

__

Maybe I should just knock Eriol out for the trip, even if it's only an hour flight. _I don't think Syaoran would mindalthough Tomoyo definitely would_

I stuffed my tent into the bag, then cinched it shut and toted it over to the truck, throwing it in the back. My bag was already on its way to the airport; my backpack was on my back; and there was nothing left for me to do, other than get on the bus.

Now, Tomoyo was my best friend. She was there for me when I needed her; she supported me and always made me feel welcome. But there were some times when I could have killed her.

See, there were three seats left on the bus: one big seat and the aisle one by Eriol. I took the empty one, and then she sat next to Eriol.

All of a sudden, I realized Syaoran was not on the bus yet. 

__

Oh, no

I swear, she does this kind of thing _just_ to see–and catch on tape–how red my face can get. She'd known before even I did how I felt about him. It had taken almost losing him for me to realize how much he had really meant.

__

The sorcerer smiled grimly at me, twirling his staff. Eriol and Syaoran were on either side of me, and I could feel both of them getting ready to use magic. This was the first time someone had challenged me for the Cards, but Eriol had said Clow Reed had been challenged all the time. 

It had all happened so fast–I'd been shopping with Tomoyo when we ran into first Syaoran, then Eriol, and she'd suggested a picnic. We'd gone to the park, and then the sorcerer had shown up.

****

Wait a second, a voice in me said. **If there's a fight between me and that guy and they're helping me out, then they could get hurt, even though it isn't their fight.**

"You guys, get out of here!" I started to panic.

"What?!"

"This isn't your fight and I don't want you hurt! Get out of here!"

"Are you **joking?**" Syaoran demanded. 

I felt magic flare up–the only warning I had before the spell hit. 

Raw power blasted at me, burning red-orange. I was like a deer in the headlights, too stunned to do anything, and then something pushed me out of the way. One moment, I was standing, and the next I was face-down in dirt. An explosion roared up behind me. I sat up through the blinding light, shielding my face with my arm, and as soon as the spots cleared from my eyes, I made out a figure, fallen in the dust. 

Syaoran had pushed me out of the way; and it had hit him instead.

My mind started saying it wasn't possible, that he must have just fallen over, but then he didn't get back up and my mind started screaming.

I stood, feeling my magic grow, fueled by my emotions. Reaching into my pocket, I selected one Card with cold precision and drew it out, then threw it into the air.

"FIREY!"

The magic I sent through it was so powerful that the spirit wasn't even visible. There was a pause, and then a column of fire erupted around the other sorcerer. When the power ran out, all that was left was a little pile of ash.

I sat down, hard, in the dirt, then scrambled on my hands and knees to where Syaoran was still. There was no sound as I seized his wrist and felt for a pulse, tears tracing lighter paths down my dusty cheek. 

****

He can't be dead. Oh my god, he can't be. **I can't–I can't do this without him.** **He means so much to me.**

I closed my eyes in pain. **I can't lose him. I can't.** **Not Syaoran–never Syaoran.**

Please–just don't take him away from me.

A faint vibration thumped through my fingers. 

Was it a pulse?

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up straighter, watching him desperately for any sign of life. 

A miracle happened: he flinched. 

Another few seconds passed, the tension almost palpable in the air; and then he flinched again. He sat up, shaking his head as though to clear it, then opened his eyes. "Okay, what happened?"

He was alive. Syaoran was alive. 

I hugged him as hard as I could, still amazed that I'd nearly lost him. 

That night, I laid on my bed, now confused. Where had those thoughts I'd had come from? 

****

'He means so much to meI can't lose him' Where did they come from?

I had been truly terrified of losing him, more scared than I'd ever been. 

Staring at the ceiling, I tried to sort out my feelings, but nothing made sense. And then I thought about Syaoranand I didn't know what it was, but it made me feel safe. 

****

I like him, he's my friend–right?

**Do I want to be more than friends?**

Is that it? Am I–am I in love with him?

A blush swept over my face, like it hadn't done since the days of hanyan over Yukito. 

But I was hanyan-ing over Syaoran.

****

I can't believe this! I–I used to think of him as a friend!

But he–he does mean more to me than–than anyone else. **Is it possible?** **Am I in love with him?**

The more I thought about it, the more right it seemed; and the redder my face turned. 

I knew she was doing it on purpose. She and Eriol had to have some kind of agreement going, making it so that Syaoran always sat next to me. Eriol had obviously thought I'd missed that little prank right before we boarded the plane, where he changed our seat numbers so that I'd be sitting next to Syaoran, but I hadn't and it was only sheer luck that I had had my CD player to distract me. 

I stared out the window, then slipped on my headphones pretended to become totally immersed in the music. It was my escape: whenever I ended up in a situation like this (which was often) I'd just listen to my music and act as though I was in my own little world. I felt kind of bad for Syaoran, though, because they kept on making him sit next to me and I wasn't exactly the best of company. _Oh, well_

____

The flight was pretty standard. After the first fifteen minutes, I knocked Eriol out and he snored for the next forty-five minutes. This time, Syaoran stuffed a roll of socks in his mouth to muffle the noise. The sad thing was that it only slightly dulled the roar.

We were waiting for another bus from the airport, slightly bewildered by all the English around us, when someone tripped and said something, while getting back to their feet. 

"I wonder what that means," Tomoyo said thoughtfully. 

"Yeah." I frowned in concentration and tried to mimic what the person had said. "Shi-it." 

Eriol's eyes popped. "Sakura!"

I blinked. "What?" Someone else said something I could hear before he could reply, and I tried to copy them. "Suhn uff uh bih–"

"Don't!" He cut me off. "Those aren't exactly poetic words, Sakura!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. 

He informed me exactly what he meant, and I blushed, embarrassed. "I think I just got nominated dumbass of the year."

Eriol slapped his forehead, not replying. It was a good thing that the bus pulled up right then–to some extent. Mr. Terada had assigned us seats, and it wasn't by chance that not only was Tomoyo sitting by Eriol, but guess who was sitting by me?

__

You know, I'm starting to think Syaoran was right about EriolMaybe he **is** evil

____

When we got to Balboa Island, we trudged down to the main house where we would be meeting in the mornings to get our house assignments. Eriol, Syaoran, Tomoyo and I had already agreed after I'd heard about the High Card that we needed to be in the same house, and I'd told Eriol that he could take care of that, because he seemed to have a knack for that kind of thing. We waited until our names were called and we were given directions, a house key, and a map of the island, then set off.

After winding through countless alleys and narrow streets, we got to where we were staying. My arms ached from carrying the suitcases, and my shoulders were sending me a painful reminder that I still had my backpack on. 

I barely managed to lift my feet high enough to clear the steps. Between remnants of jet lag, leftover exhaustion from sealing and transforming the Card, getting lost in the airport, getting lost on my way to the main house, and then getting lost trying to find our house, I was ready to fall on a bed and sleep for the next day and a half.

Tomoyo shoved the key into the lock and the door swung open to reveal a dim, musty interior. A funny smell wafted out towards us, and I swallowed. It wasn't the usual sea-sand-saltwater smell of a beach house; it was the someone-left-the-milk-out smell. 

Eriol blinked, then frowned, took a few steps into the house, and turned to me. "Do you mind if I make a few–er–adjustments?"

"Go wild," I told him wearily.

There was a flash, and then the whitewashed walls were replaced with handsome oak paneling. I blinked, taking in the new surroundings with surprise. Several armchairs were placed around the room, with a couch along one wall and a television opposite it. The room itself was noticeably larger, also–by at least twenty feet. 

"Ummaren't people going to notice?" I asked doubtfully.

"Nope," he replied. "To anyone else, it looks just like it did before. It _is_ different, though." 

"Great," I sighed. "Do we have anything we're supposed to do today?"

"Not that I know of," said Tomoyo thoughtfully. "We're pretty much just supposed to settle in and get a look at the island."

"Okay" I looked around for anything that would tell the time and found none. "Can we get a clock in here, please?" Eriol shrugged, snapping his fingers, and a magnificent grandfather clock appeared nearby, reading 3:50. "I'm going to take a nap, okay? If I'm not up by seven, wake me up."

"Right," Tomoyo said with sympathy. "Get some rest, Sakura. You need it."

"Yeah" I trudged through an open door and shut it behind me, dropped my bags carelessly on the floor, and fell onto the bed, out like a light. 

____

When I woke up, the morning light was streaming in and falling across my bed sheets. Sitting up, I looked around and found yet another grandfather clock directly across from me, reading _7:16._

__

So much for waking me up by seven Yawning, I got out of bed, feeling much better. My stomach growled, calling for food and calling for it _now._ I decided to make breakfast, since that was part of the field trip–learning to put our Home Ec lessons to good use. 

Getting dressed, I walked out the door and into the living room. The other three doors–Eriol had apparently decided that we didn't really need to share rooms–were still closed, so I quietly made my way to the kitchen and surveyed my domain. Cupboards lined two of the walls, and a dishwasher, oven/stove, and microwave was situated nearby. A fridge stood in another corner, seemingly watching over the kitchen. 

I started going through the cupboards and found, to my satisfaction, that we had more than enough for me to make breakfast. There were even aprons hanging from a coat rack. I tied one on and got to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

Clank.

I blinked and stared at the ceiling, not quite sure of where I was. The sound of someone moving around in the kitchen was coming through the walls, but who was it?

Sitting up, I ran a hand through my hair and tried to remember what I was doing here.

__

Oh yeah. I'm on Balboa Island.

And I'm sleeping in the same house as Sakura.

Blushing, I pulled on a shirt and walked out, trying not to concentrate on the fact that I was that close to Sakura. The clanks came to a halt for a moment, and there was a swishing noise, then a hiss as something hit hot metal. The smell of cooking batter floated through the air, giving the house a homelike feel.

I walked into the kitchen, and my eyes landed on a slender figure standing in front of the stove, watching the frying pan with a suspicious eye, the spatula poised above it. Her face was caught in an expression of cheerful concentration, but then her eyes narrowed. The spatula darted out and slid neatly under a pancake, then flipped it up. It landed, raw-side-down, on the griddle, followed by three others. The coffee pot groaned, and a teakettle on a back burner started to whistle softly. She moved it to an empty burner, setting it down in time to move the pancakes off the griddle and onto a plate. Tiny plumes of steam rose as more batter hit the bottom of the pan. 

"Morning, Syaoran," she said brightly, still watching the new pancakes, her spatula within striking distance once more.

"You're good at that." I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

She smiled. "Which, cooking or sensing people?"

"Both," I answered diplomatically, meaning it. _Of course, she's good at everything, but still_

"Morning!" Tomoyo came in, looking far too awake. 

"Whatever happened to waking me up at seven?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"You were still asleep," Tomoyo replied innocently. "And you were too kawaii to wake up. Syaoran agrees with me, don't you?"

"What?" I blushed, unsure of what to say. 

"Sakura was too kawaii to wake up," she repeated patiently. "Right?"

Just then, Eriol walked in. "Pancakes?"

"Pancakes," Sakura confirmed, handing him a plate piled high. "You guys _share_ those, okay? I'll be there in a minute."

"Since when do you get up so early?" Tomoyo asked, sitting down. "I thought you were going to sleep in."

"Yeah, so did I," she replied, pushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Tea, anyone?"

"Yes, please." Eriol watched as Sakura floated table settings out of a cupboard, where they dropped onto the table. Syrup and butter drifted over to the table, followed by cartons of orange juice and milk. 

There was a pop as toast sprang out of the toaster. She swiftly picked them up and put them on a plate which floated onto the table too as jam spun out of the cupboard and landed gently on the table too. The sound of metal scraping against metal grated in the air as she moved the frying pan to an empty burner and went to a cabinet. "What kind?"

"Earl Grey," he answered.

"Is there green tea?" Tomoyo asked. 

"Yep." Twin tea packets flew to them, the teakettle close on their heels. With a sigh, Sakura sat down. "Let's eat!"

____

It was about noon when the Card struck.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Sakura asked, watching the TV, bored because it was almost all in English except for Spanish soap operas. 

"I don't know," Tomoyo said thoughtfully. "I think it's another free day."

"Oh, okay." She sat back, then looked out the window. "What's that?"

I leaned forward and saw a Ferris wheel, accompanied by a merry-go-round. About to answer, I stopped as something that looked like a giant frog jumped into the room and stared at me. 

__

What the hell?!

"What the heck is that?" Tomoyo scrambled away from it. 

"I don't know!" I called out my sword, and it looked at me, then blinked. A surge of magic hit me, and I stumbled back as it leapt away. 

"Syaoran!" Sakura ran over to me. "Are you okay?"

"The opposite of 'no.'"

__

What the–

"What?" Sakura blinked confusedly. 

I felt magic, and realized exactly what it was. "This is something that was made by Clow, was in a book, and isn't now."

"A Card? Which–oh." She smacked her forehead. "The Riddle."

There was a knock at the door, and Tomoyo answered it as we exchanged nervous looks and my sword vanished. Would I have to speak in riddles the entire day? Or until she caught it? 

Mr. Terada stood at the door, smiling brightly. "Hey, we decided to go to over to Funland."

"Funland?" Sakura asked confusedly.

"The amusement park over there," he said, pointing. "Everybody's meeting at the main house in ten minutes."

"Okay, we'll be there." Tomoyo waited until he had gone to shut the door, then turned back to us. "Now what do we do?"

"Umm" Sakura rubbed her forehead, deep in thought. "We can say you're sick, or losing your voice or something so you don't have to talk."

"But when are you going to catch it?" Eriol asked.

"We can't do it in broad daylight," she said reluctantly. "I think you're stuck till tonight, Syaoran."

I shrugged carelessly, although I was fairly exasperated. _Why couldn't it have gone and attacked Eriol?_

Simple: it was my kind of luck to be the one who had to rhyme all day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I bit my lip, feeling guilty. _Poor Syaoran_ We had gone over to 'Funland' with everybody, hit a few of the rides, and then walked around the island, checking out the stores. Now we were back at the house, waiting anxiously for the sun to set and dark to fall so I could catch the Card. 

The sun was just touching the horizon when we got back. I didn't like having Syaoran silent the entire time–I wanted to hear his voice. 

"So, Sakura, any preferences on the costume?" Tomoyo asked as we trudged in through the door. 

__

"Costume?!"

"Of course," she said, surprised. "You're catching a Card, aren't you?"

"But–but–"

"No buts!" She went to her room, then emerged, lugging a suitcase. Briskly snapping it open, she held up some kind of jumpsuit in electric blue. "How about this?"

"Um" 

"Or this? Or this? Or this?" Outfit after outfit was pulled out as I watched, amazed. "DUDE! THIS ONE'S GOT PUFFY SLEEVES! YOU HAVE **GOT** TO WEAR THIS ONE!"

I tried not to roll my eyes and sat down wearily.

"Oh _no!_" she said suddenly, sounding horrified.

"What is it?" I asked, sitting up.

"I'm out of film for my cameraI can't take _any_ photos" 

"I'll go to the store and get some," offered Eriol.

"You can't go alone, though." Tomoyo's mouth twisted in a sad frown. 

"Aw, Syaoran'll go with me, won't you?" Eriol hauled him to his feet. "Come on, let's get that film."

I watched, amused, as Eriol dragged him down the stairs.

"Oh yeah!" Tomoyo said brightly. "You never saw what happened with the High Card!"

I blanched. "You _taped_ it?"

"Why wouldn't I? Hold on, let me get it." She scrambled to her feet and dashed to her room, coming out a moment later with a black tape in hand. "This is great!" Grinning, she popped it in and sat back.

The screen filled with static, and then cut to a view of the campsite as loud, off-key singing filled the air.

"I WAS GONNA CLEAN MY ROOM"

Every ounce of blood drained from my face as I watched myself stumble around, mortified. "Oh my god"

"It gets better," Tomoyo assured me. "Watch."

Syaoran strode over and tried to pull me to my feet. I heard giggles from Eriol, and the video camera spun and wobbled, getting a nice view of the ground. It panned back up in time for me to see myself seize Syaoran by the front of his shirt and kiss him.

"OH MY GOD!" Bright red, I covered my face with my hands. "Oh my god"

"You _LOOOOOOOOVE_ meyou think I'm _GOOOOOOORRRRRRGEOUS_you want to _DAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE_ me"

"Just pick her up or something! Come _on,_ Eriol."

I watched as Syaoran picked me up and blushed even harder. "I don't believe this"

"That was about it," Tomoyo said matter-of-factly, switching the television off. "What do you think?"

"That tape never, _ever_ gets within three miles of Touya," I said bluntly. "Oh my dear god"

I had kissed Syaoran, too. The one time I got to kiss him, and I was too doped up to even notice.

Life was not fair.

There was a flare of magic nearby, and I jumped to my feet in time to see the frog leap past the window. "The Riddle!"

Dusk had fallen; it was close enough to dark. "Sorry, Tomoyo. I've gotta catch it now." I threw the window open and called the staff. "Jump!"

Soaring out the window, I landed lightly on a nearby roof and looked around for the glowing patch of neon green. There it was–a few houses away. I sprang from roof to roof in pursuit of it, always a step behind. 

Then it stopped and faced me. The frog turned into the real spirit of the Card, a woman with a playful grin. "If you can solve my riddle, then I will go willingly."

I nodded. "What is it?"

"I am the strongest thing on Earth, yet no one can see me," she said lightly. "There is no one who does not know me, but they have never met me. I have started wars; I have made peace. What am I?"

I blinked. _Something strong, but unseen? Wars have been started by it?_ _What could it be?_

And then I knew. There was no way the answer could be any different. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Love."

"Correct. I have one more riddle for you, but this one you do not have to solve. The answer will come soon enough." She smiled. "This person cares for you. You know him and you don't know him. You hear him and you don't hear him. He hurts you and he protects you. He speaks and yet is silent. He sees and yet he is blind. Who is he?"

I blinked, surprised. "What do you —"

She shook her head. "You will know. Eventually, you will know. Seal me, please."  
"Can we go back to the house first? I'll have to transform you after this, and that thing kind of makes me faint, so I don't want to have to fall off of a roof or anything."

She shrugged. "Okay."

I got us back to the living room and sealed and transformed her. The final flash died down just as Eriol and Syaoran walked through the door.

"What the–" Syaoran broke off, realizing he wasn't speaking in riddles anymore. "Oh." 

"Yeah," I said dizzily, sitting heavily on the couch. My vision started to go. "This time, could you guys wake me up–"

I blacked out before I could finish the sentence.

____

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and cheerful. Yawning, I sat up, then remembered what Mr. Terada had told us yesterday. Excitement started to build in me.

Today was the day we were going to Disneyland.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

) Okay, that's going to be an interesting chapterSorry, people, I know this was kinda boring, but I was on a time crunch. The next chapter is _much_ more interesting, along with the ones after that. 


	4. DISNEYLAND!!!

Vacation!

Chapter Three: DISNEYLAND!!!!!!

WAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZUUUUUPPPPP???? WAAAASAAAAAABBBBIII!!!!!! Sugoi des ne? Hai, ii des ne! Watashi no genki des ne!ß Look! JadeWing can speak Japanese (AKA Nihongo) Okay, ready for the chapter to start? I decided that good ol' Disneyland is about to get a fewmodifications.. No, I'm not crazy, I'm just insane! ^_^

Disclaimer: ::points bazooka at Nelvana HQ:: Let's see ya dub THIS, you tone-deaf, festering, sons of-- ::gets tackled by special forces:: NO! NO! I'M ON THE GOOD SIDE! I'M A GOOD GIRL!!!!! THEY'RE THE ONES TWISTING YOUR CHILDEN'S MINDS!!! GET THEM!!! ::gets dragged away, screaming:: I don't even own this! NO! NO! I _DON'T_ OWN THIS! PUT THE CATTLE PROD DOWN!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took a deep breath and felt the fresh air wash through my veins as I stood there, awe-struck. There had never been a more inspiring sight to see; never something quite as amazing.

"Wow" Tomoyo sighed, her eyes huge. 

"Isn't it _beautiful?_" I whispered, my voice hushed, as if I spoke too loud, I would be struck down by lightning. 

It was worth it. Getting doped up, dealing with a basket case sorcerer on a plane, getting my first kiss and being too stoned to remember, making an idiot of myself—it was all worth it. I felt as though I could stand there all day and behold this miracle.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie walked away, followed by a trail of shrieking toddlers and stressed parents, and I wiped a tear from my eye. "That wasthe _best_ momentof my life"

"Yeah" 

I shook my head, too worked up to speak around the lump in my throat. And then Donald Duck walked past and I nearly fainted. 

"Sakura, come on! We need to get to the rides!" Chiharu waved at me to hurry up, and, swallowing, I ran after her. 

Mr. Terada stopped us in front of the statue of Walt Disney. "We'll meet back here at one o' clock and _no later._ Stay in your groups at all times and don't wander off, or bad things will happen. One o'clock, people!"

"So where do we go first?" Chiharu asked animatedly. 

"Did you know that Steamboat Willie—"

__

Wham!

"I say we go on Star Tours first," Rika suggested calmly, as if Yamazaki was not, in fact, lying at Chiharu's feet, unconscious and with a lump the size of an egg on his head.

"Sounds good to me," I started, but was cut off by a delighted squeal from Naoko.

"THEY'VE GOT A HAUNTE HOUSE!!! **DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDDDE!!!!!!!!!**"

I paled. "H-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-haunt-t-t-t-t-t-t-ed h-h-h-h-h-h-h-house?" 

"Oh, wow!" She literally got stars in her eyes as I swallowed. "We have _got_ to go!"

I swear, right then, if a thunderstorm had come up behind her and lightning had cracked, I wouldn't have been surprised. 

"I wouldn't mind," Yamazaki said from the ground, trying to sit up with difficulty. 

"Yeah, sounds like fun!" Rika added.

"So we're all—" Naoko paused suddenly and said, "Oh, I forgot—sorry, Sakura. We don't have to go."

I tried to smile. "No, it's okay. They're just machines, aren't they? I'll be fine." 

"Are you sure?" Tomoyo asked doubtfully.

__

I can't ruin this trip for everyone. "Positive," I lied. 

"Then let's go!" Naoko led the way as I felt every ounce of blood slowly drain from my face. _They're just machines. They're just machines. They're just machines_

By the time we reached the huge, Victorian house, I was nearly having a nervous breakdown. I tried to think about something else—anything else—but it didn't help that they had a _hearse_ parked only ten feet away from where we were waiting. 

The line moved after a short pause and we were ushered into a room where we waited some more. _Waiting. I like waiting,_ I decided. _I like waiting a lot. How about we just wait instead of going in?_

Doors creaked open in front of me, and I sucked in breath. The crowd pushed me along and we were all packed into a round room, tight enough that it would send any claustrophobic into spasms of terror. Looking up, I saw what seemed to be nice, normal portraits and my nerves soothed somewhat. _Paintings. That isn't too bad. Paintings are nice. I like paintings. I'm not scared of paintings. If I look at the nice paintings, I can't get too scared—can I?_

A dark, creepy voice started speaking, and I was unable to hold in a startled yelp. I was too freaked to understand what it was saying, but as I watched, the 'nice' paintings started elongating with the rest of the room, to show their true nature. One of a woman in a dress turned out to be the woman on a high wire, standing above particularly vicious-looking crocodiles. My heart started beating frantically, and we were herded down a narrow hall. 

The whole time I kept my eyes on the ground, trying not to look at the walls. _They're just machines. They're just machines. They're just machines_

We came to what seemed to be a loading station for strange-looking vehicles. I hesitated, then dashed onto one. The bar came down across my lap with a clang, and I jumped, then realized it was _supposed_ to happen and clung to it with a death grip. 

The egg-thing I was in moved upwards, then snapped to the right, and my eyes widened in terror. Dozens of ghosts were whirling around a ballroom and flying around. _They're just machines. They're just machines. They're just machines_

I was spun around so I faced back and couldn't see what was coming, which made me even more frightened. The surroundings seemed fairly normalThen we came into a dark room, where the voice was saying something about a psychic fortuneteller. All I saw was the crystal ball, and then it said something about either just her head or her being dead already, I wasn't sure which, and I realized that what was in the crystal ball was the gypsy person's _head._ Revolted, I nearly threw up before realizing it couldn't possibly be realright?

Music floated through the air, playful and jazzy. We were slowly lowered into a graveyard, where ghosts paraded around. It was bad enough being so close to the demonic things, but then everything came to a halt.

I was stuck. 

In the middle of a graveyard. 

With ghosts.

__

They aren't real ghosts. They're just machines. They're just machines. They're just machines.

The music softened as a voice came over the intercom. "Playful spirits have tampered with the ride. Please wait in your_'Doom Buggy'_ until the ride is over."

__

PLAYFUL SPIRITS?!?!?!

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "OMI**GOD** IT REALLY IS HAUNTED!" I tried to move the bar, but it wouldn't go back up. "LET ME OUT! I WANT OFF! LET ME GOOOOOOOO!" I shook the bar and it rattled, but didn't budge. "GOD **DAMN** IT YOU PIECE OF **SHIT** LET ME FREAKIN **OFF!!!"**I snapped and called out the wand, but before I could summon the Sword, something popped up right in front of me, howling.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY **GET IT AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!**" 

There was a crack as wand met ghoul repeatedly. I was swinging at whatever it was in front of me, wielding the staff like it was a baseball bat, determined just to keep it back. "OoooooOOOOooooouuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzztttttt" 

The ride restarted with a lurch, and I was towed away, still scared shitless. As the "Doom Buggy" glided on, I shrank the wand. We came to a wall of mirrors, and my mind barely registered the fact that the voice was saying something about a ghost riding with us when I saw a decrepit skeleton in the reflection, sitting by my side.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! I WANT TO GET OFF **NOW**!!!!!!!"

Then the bar magically lifted up, and I was free. I bolted, heading to the light. Tears were streaming down my face, and I stumbled.

"Hey!" Something caught my elbow before I fell.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I thrashed and tried to get away, but whatever had me kept an iron hold on my arm and pulled me to my feet, then turned me to face them, grasping me by the shoulders.

"It's me," a familiar voice said hurriedly. "It's just me, Sakura!"

"It—it _attacked_ me, and there was a g-g-g-g-g-ghost _s-s-s-s-sitting_ _next_ to me, and there were _heads_ and g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-ghosts and it really was _ha-ha-ha-ha-h-h-haunted_ and—and—and—" I broke down into hysterical sobs.

"It's okay, Sakura. They aren't real."

"H-h-how d-d-d-d-do y-y-you know?"

"Well," Syaoran said matter-of-factly, "for one thing, ghosts don't have wires coming out of them. And for another, if there had been _any_ ghosts in there, I think we would have known."

"I heard a robot had the crap beaten out of it," I heard Eriol mutter nearby.

"Oh." I straightened and laughed nervously. "Yeah, umyeah. Whoops."

"We don't know anything about it, _right?_" Yamazaki asked pointedly. "It never happened."

There were nods all around, and more than a few suppressed grins. Mr. Terada had put our two groups together for the Disneyland excursion, and so our new group was composed of Eriol, Tomoyo, Syaoran, me, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika, and Naoko. "Seems like you won't be mugged any time soon," Rika said wickedly.

"That isn't funny," I sniffed, still fairly well traumatized as we went out. I just wanted to be as far away from that hell-house as possible.

We trooped out, cringing in the bright Californian sunshine, and I hung back a little, trying to regain a little more composure. 

"You okay?"

I looked up and saw Syaoran watching me with concern. "Yeah, I just need a little therapy," I joked weakly. 

"Well, I knew _that _already, but that was all Hiiragizawa's fault." He smirked.

"Syaoran!" I smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "That's not very nice!"

"The guy nearly smothered you in _sheep," _Syaoran argued. "Honestly, I had a twitch for a week after the invisible string spiel, too."

"So he almost killed me fifty times or so," I said with a casual shrug. "It isn't that big of a deal."

Syaoran shook his head wearily. "I'm telling you, he's planning to take over the world. All he needs to do is stuff enough sugar in Spinel and bada bing, bada boom. World domination." 

"Hey, you guys, you're holding us back!" Eriol smirked at us. "Quit flirting and get up here!"

I blushed a bright scarlet hue and yelled at the same time Syaoran did, "WE'RE NOT FLIRTING!"

Tomoyo's mouth twitched as she recorded it all on tape. "Tomoyo, _please!_ Will you turn that thing _off?_"

She blinked, then said lightly, "Nope."

"Hey, who's up for Tomorrow Land?" Chiharu asked. "I want to go on Space Mountain!"

"And then they've got that 'Honey, I shrunk the audience' thing, too," Yamazaki added. "Did you know that the Soviet Union invented 3-D vision during the Cold War?"

__

Smack!

"ENOUGH WITH THE LIES! ALL I HEAR IS LIES, LIES, LIES!" Chiharu pulled at her braids in vexation. 

"How about Star Tours?" I suggested, trying to move the subject from anything that could cause more violence. _For the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland sure sees a lot of fighting_

"Yeah! Star Tours!"

Immediately, the attention was caught, and we set off to Tomorrow Land. The line wasn't too long, which seemed fairly surprising. After about twenty minutes, we were at the boarding thing. 

And Tomoyo did it again. 

Somehow, she managed to make it so that I was standing behind Syaoran, in a row that seemed about the middle. The doors slid open, and we filed in. 

I sat down next to Syaoran, trying not to blush. _I swear, I think I'm going to hurt her_

I had just managed to get myself buckled in when the lights dimmed and the window lowered in front of us. I'd never been on this, so I wasn't sure what to really expect. 

The robot started talking as I blinked. And then the _thing_ we were in lurched forward. I squeaked in surprise, and then sucked in breath as we were thrown forward. 

The next few minutes were the wildest ride I'd ever been on. All I saw was ice, stars, lasers, and weird spaceships that looked like wedges of cheese. Eriol was looking more than slightly green, but then that turned to an odd shade of brown-purple when Tomoyo hid her face in his shoulder, with the green being combined with the red. I wanted to hide until it was all over, but somehow I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I cringed at every jerk and thump, and then heaved a sigh of relief when it was over. 

"Is itover yet?" Eriol had the armrests in a white-knuckled grip, his face pinched and tight. "Can we get off yet?"

"Yeah," I said breathlessly, fumbling with my seatbelt. "I think they need a new driver."

"No arguments there," Yamazaki croaked. We were almost out the door when we realized Eriol still was in his seat, staring straight ahead. 

"Eriol, come on!" Naoko yelled. "We've got to get off!" 

He shook his head mutely, not blinking, and the solution came to me. I walked over to him and said something, and he seemed wake up. 

I could almost see the smoke from his tracks as he sprinted out of there. A smug smile on my face, I headed back to the door. 

"What did you _say_ to him?" Syaoran muttered.

I smirked and, with a shrug, said, "I told him Tomoyo was watching."

The next thing we decided to go on was Space Mountain. We'd gotten Fast Passes earlier, so we were able to cut ahead and were waiting nervously, perilously close to where people were being loaded onto the cars. Ominous screams were echoing faintly through the air, which wasn't exactly reassuring. Of course, I didn't mind—I _liked_ roller coasters. The line slowly shrank as I felt the butterflies grow; and then we were getting herded onto the cars.

I swear, it's a conspiracy. 

Why?

The attendant person put me next to Syaoran.

__

This is **so** not funny The only thing that was any compensation was that Tomoyo had to sit next to Eriol. I reveled in her blush, wishing for once that I had a camera.

And then the ride started. 

We were slowly carted down the hall, and then came into a huge field of stars and darkness—

And we were hurtled forward. 

I hadn't gained my breath from the first jerk when the car screamed downward, then to the side, then up, and then a turn so steep I was literally sideways.

And that was only the beginning. 

When I stopped being scared, it actually got really, really fun. The adrenaline in the air was almost tangible, the tense excitement thick. We were thrown around like a ball in a pinball machine, and I was wondering how Eriol was taking it when the car leveled out, then came out to where the people were waiting to get on. 

I was addicted. 

"We have _so_ got to go again," I said, exhilarated, climbing out. 

"Let's get Fast Passes for it and go on another ride," Rika suggested practically. 

"_Or,_ let's get Fast Passes for it and go eat lunch," Eriol added. "Unless no one else is hungry."

"No, I'm ready for lunch." Yamazaki looked around. "All in favor?"

There were nods and shrugs all around, and we set off once more, this time in search of a restaurant. On our way out, we got the passes, then headed down to the nearest restaurant. After a lunch that mainly consisted of pizza and pop, I sat back and pulled out my pass. 

"Hey, it doesn't work until 2:45," I said with surprise. "We've got between 2:45 and 3:15."

"What time is it now?" Tomoyo asked.

Eriol checked his watch. "12:14."

"Really?" I chewed my lip. "So what do we do?"

There was silence as we all thought. 

"I know!" Chiharu was nearly bouncing in her seat from excitement. 

"What?" I asked.

Her eyes danced. "Small World!"

There were groans from Yamazaki and Eriol, and Syaoran merely cocked an eyebrow, which was the wiser action based on what happened to Yamazaki as a result of his reaction.

__

WHAM!

"Don't _ever _diss Small World," Chiharu growled, putting the hammer back in her backpack. 

"Yeah!" Tomoyo scowled at his motionless form, as did I. "And _you_ don't diss it either!" she huffed at Eriol, punctuating her statement with a smack upside the head that was so blatantly weak that he couldn't have been damaged in any way. In fact, he didn't really seem to mind at all, other than blushing wildly. Syaoran and I were of the opinion that when he blushed, not just his face turned red, but that he turned a nice shade of scarlet all over, so if he was naked—which was a highly disturbing thought—he would resemble a lobster every time he was near Tomoyo.

"So Small World it is?" Rika asked, blinking serenely over the prone form of Yamazaki slumped over the table. 

"Why not?" Naoko shrugged. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yep!" I cleared my tray away as Chiharu slapped Yamazaki awake and hauled him to his feet.

"Alright!" Naoko cracked her knuckles and we headed out. Soon, we were boarding the pseudo-boats and drifting into the tunnel. Shrill, piping voices rang through the air and I sighed in bliss. 

"It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hopes, it's a world of fears"

Paradise could not be any better than this. I could see the guys cringing in obvious pain but couldn't imagine for the life of me why. I mean, _we were in 'It's a Small World.'_ Heaven for me couldn't be too different from this.

Behind me, Yamazaki plugged his ears and shuddered.

While we were waiting for the passes, we checked in at 1:00 with Mr. Terada, then decided to go on another roller coaster and chose the Matterhorn. The lines were fairly short, which was an odd occasion, but I suspected Eriol had more than just a hand in that. In fact, unless I was very mistaken, he was ensuring the lines were at least half as long for the rides we wanted to go on. 

"After this, we can go on one more ride, then get to Space Mountain, and after that we have to get to the rides we haven't gone on yet," Chiharu said positively while we waited. 

"Haven't we gone on most of them already?" Yamazaki asked.

Everyone stared blankly at him, and then burst into laughter.

"M-M-Most?" Naoko wheezed. "I wish!"

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" Eriol asked between laughs.

"IT WAS A LIE." Chiharu glared, then reached into her purse, searching for the hammer.

"No! No! I was stupid! I'm sorry! I wasn't lying! DON'T HURT ME!" Yamazaki cowered down against the wrought-iron fence.

A fat man with a mullet, wearing a grease-stained shirt turned around and snorted at Yamazaki. "Yeah, yer woman givin' ya trouble?" he bellowed, not waiting for him to answer. "My wife, now she's always beatin' me with sum kinda stick or sumthin, but when she's _real_ mad, now that's when ya gotta watch out, cuz that's when she gets out her whip an gives me a lickin'. But then, to make up fer it, she's _real_ good in the ole sack, if ya know what I mean." 

"Herb!" A plump woman slapped him on the shoulder, blushing.

We blinked at him, stunned.

"Hey, whadya youngsters think about that Ja-net Jackerson or what's her name? That new song o' hers, now that just makes ya think she's been hittin' the old ma-ree-whana a LITTLE TOO HARD, ya know what I mean," he continued, scratching his stomach. "Them lyrics, those 're just downright _ree-_diculous. 'Clowns in my coffee?' 'Some men like to evaluate their prizes'?" He gurgled a laugh and elbowed Yamazaki so hard he flew into the next gate. "And we know what she means by _prizes,_ don't we?"

We exchanged looks, most of us blushing. _Time for Plan A,_ I sent to Eriol. 

He nodded the tiniest bit and blinked dumbly at the tourist. "We ah frum Jah-pahn," he said, his accent thick. "We no unduhstahnd Eengrish." This was absolutely wrong; we all understood it perfectly, thanks to a little help from Eriol. Well, at least, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and I did. He'd given us a translation spell for the day so we could know what was going on; the others' knowledge of 'Eengrish,' as Eriol had put it, was limited but still fairly good. We had all known exactly what he was saying and implying.

"Oh." The man tilted his head to the side, trying to process the thought with difficulty. "Well, then, uh, _Sigh-yo-naw-ra." _His pronunciation was terrible, but we still got the message. He had herded his family onto a bobsled and disappeared by the time we broke into laughter. 

"Brilliant, Eriol," Naoko laughed, leaning against the rail for support. 

"'Evaluate their _prizes?_'" Rika choked, giggling wildly. "Is there something you guys weren't telling us?"  
Fortunately, they didn't have to answer, because the next bobsled had arrived.

When it was time, we went on Space Mountain again, then headed to the Indiana Jones Adventure. Yet again, the lines weren't too long at all, but I wasn't going to stop Eriol at any time. 

We were all but shoved into the car. "I call shotgun!" I scrambled into the front seat, then looked up in time to see Tomoyo and Eriol exchange grins. That only meant one thing; I busied myself with the seatbelt and sure enough, when I looked up, Syaoran was sitting next to me. Even better, Tomoyo sat on my other side, squeezing me next to him. Before I could protest, we rolled forward like a sardine can with wheels. The darkness was just starting to scare me when we shot out. 

The next few moments were a blur of lurching, grinding, plunging, and overall terror. And then we were heading towards lots and lots of snakes.

If there was one thing I hated besides ghosts and storms, it was snakes.

I squeaked and hid my face in Syaoran's shoulder, then realized I was hiding my face in _Syaoran's_ shoulder and straightened, blushing a lovely watermelon color.

We were thrown around some more, then placed directly in the path of a huge, rolling boulder, and then somehow miraculously saved, coming to a halt in front of expectant tourists. I got out, not wanting to look at Syaoran because I knew I'd blush some more, and waited for everyone to get off. 

"Where to next?" Rika asked as she walked over, followed by the rest of our group. 

"I think we definitely need to go on Splash Mountain," Tomoyo advised.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

A chorus of 'yeahs' accompanied her nomination, and it was decided. On our way, however, we were distracted by God.

Okay, so maybe not quite God. But it was just about as good.

We halted in our path and stared, awe-struck, at the living deity before us. 

"Hey, kids!" Mickey Mouse said cheerfully. 

None of us spoke for the longest moment. Then I whispered, daring, "Cancan I have a hug?"

"Well, sure!" I was enveloped in black felt, then swiftly released, and Mickey moved on.

My chin trembled, and I burst into tears of joy, staring through watery eyes at my hands. They were the hands of someone who had been hugged by _Mickey Mouse._

I was holy.

"Wow"

I looked over to see Naoko, Rika, and Tomoyo bowing down to me. "Teach me your ways, oh Great One," Rika said worshipfully. 

Syaoran handed me a handkerchief, oblivious to the fact that I had been _hugged_ by the representative of all things nice. "What's wrong?"

"I" I couldn't even say it, bursting into a fresh wave of tears. The handkerchief was drenched in a matter of seconds. 

In the end, I calmed down and we continued to Splash Mountain. It was only after we'd staggered off that I realized I was soaked from head to toe.

Including my shirt.

I crossed my arms, deeply regretting wearing a white t-shirt. _Maybe it'll dry faster if I move around_ "What next?"

"How about Pirates of the Caribbean?" Eriol suggested. 

"Yeah, that's a _great_ idea!" Tomoyo gushed.

__

I hope I'm not **that** obvious—or that clueless, I thought ruefully. _Honestly, even **I** can tell he likes her! Give them an empty room and I don['t even want to think about what would happen_

"Sounds good," Yamazaki agreed. "Any objections?"

"Nope!" I said cheerfully. "Let's go!"

By the time we had reached the entrance, most of the line we'd seen from across the water was gone. A five-minute wait, and then we were getting in the boats. 

We drifted down the 'river', floating past a restaurant and a crude shack, and then went into the dark. A creepy voice started echoing through the air, growing louder as we went on. Finally, we turned a corner, and the speaker came into view.

It was a skull. 

A _skull_ was speaking to _me._

I whimpered as it continued, voice dripping with sadistic humor. "And rememberdead men tell no tales"

Everything went dark; there was silencebut for the soft splash of water ahead. The splash quickly turned into a roar as my chest tightened in fear. 

__

SPLOOSH!

We plummeted down a ramp, coming to a dramatic end with a splash. Raucous singing filled my ears, and we were paraded past scene after scene of war, pillaging, drunken parties, brawls, treasures guarded by long-dead pirates, and more. We were creaking up the final ramp, past two pirates attempting to tow a load of spoils up a hill, when I leaned over the side and brushed the water with my fingertips. 

"Sakura, don't do that! We don't know what's in that water!"

I turned around to see Tomoyo frowning at me. "What? It's just water!" 

"That's what they _want_ you to think," Yamazaki said ominously as we leveled out and the water became a little deeper. 

"No way," I said, believing it truly was just water. Stretching out my arm, I leaned a little more over the side—a little too far.

__

Splash!

I fell in, head-first. A mouthful of water went down my throat as I burst to the surface, gasping. The water was only about four feet deep, but it still was _cold._ I waded over to my 'boat' and half-climbed, half was hauled inside. I coughed out what was left of the foul-tasting water, then gasped, "I stand corrected. I don't _want_ to know what all is in that water, either" We bumped up against the dock, and I weakly got out, still shivering a little. 

The room started to spin, and I halted in my tracks. Everything started twirling and distorting and changing shape, and I started losing my sanity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sakura?" I waved a hand in front of her blank eyes. "Sakura?"

She continued to stare straight ahead, her pupils shrank to pinpricks. 

And then senseless babble started coming out of her mouth.

"Have you put on _your_ happy face? Huh? Have ya? Did you wake up this morning with the sunshine shining and everything's gonna be alright?" She started twitching. "Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy! I'm a rabbit hippity hoppity!" She literally bounced away, and I ran after her as reality set in. Whatever had been in that water was_affecting _her now. 

"JIMMY CRACKS CORN AND I DON'T GIVE A GOD DAMN!"

I followed the blur of white through the crowd. She was running faster than I'd thought possible, but that was probably more of the water.

The white disappeared, and I looked around frantically, but she was gone.

Shouts of surprise and fingers pointing up found her again. Somehow, she had gotten to the top of a building and was now running along the thatched roof—we'd gotten to Adventure Land. 

I used several nearby crates for steps and jumped to a roof too, dashing after her. Wildly giggling, she ran all around the rooftops with me in pursuit, and somehow I couldn't catch up. Using magic here was not an option, so all I could do was try to catch up to her. 

Finally, she reached a dead end, then jumped down and doubled back. I landed in time to see her disappear around a corner. My feet slapped the pavement as I hurtled after her. I was almost at the corner when suddenly she jumped out and yelled, "BOO!" and tackled me. 

The impact sent me—and her—flying into a gift shop. I landed with a thud on a pile of rubber skulls, then got a good look around and realized with a sinking heart that we were in the Pirates of the Caribbean Gift shop. 

"ARRRRRGGGGGGH, MATEYS!" 

I looked up as a skull bounced off the top of my head in time to see Sakura seize a hat and jam it onto her head, then scoop up multiple skulls and start hurling them at me. I knocked them away and lunged at her, but she danced away, waving a new-found hook she had put on over her hand as people fled. 

"YO-HO, YO-HO, A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" she bellowed, striding around the shop gleefully while the cashier hid behind the counter. Seeing a sword, she tried to thrust it into a non-existent sash around her waist and failed, then giggled when it fell and picked it back up again, unsheathed it, and charged at me. "BidididididididibabdbabdbabdbabfdZOOOOOOTTTTTT!!!!!!! Onamea wa? Sugoi des ne! Hai, ii des ne! Genki des ka? Hai! Ja matta ne! Shiro to midori gas suki des! Tabemono wa nani gas suki des ka? Eiga wa nani gas suki des ka? TOTORO IS ONE GIANT ACID TRIP!!!!"

Her eyes swept around—then landed on Donald Duck, who was passing by. 

"**DDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!** DIE EVIL CHICKEN FIEND!!!!!!!!!!"

Waving her plastic sword, she raced out of the shop, me on her heels once more. As I and dozens of tourists watched in astonishment, she launched herself at Donald Duck, slamming him to the ground in the kind of tackle that would make an NFL player jealous. There were hollow thwaps as she fruitlessly beat at him with her sword, which was now bent in several different places. 

Several children burst into tears.

A couple of boys our age came to the front and started yelling, "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

Donald Duck managed to get free and tried to run away, but she scrambled to her feet and had him pinned under her in a matter of seconds. 

For a sad, sick second, I found myself wishing I was in Donald Duck's place. 

"Everybody STAND BACK." Men in black uniforms marched in and surrounded the fighting duo, blocking my view. There were several shrieks, and I ran over.

"Excuse me—" I tapped one on the shoulder, and he turned around. "Excuse me, I'm her classmate—"

There were more shrieks, and Donald Duck ran away as fast as he could. 

__

Chick-chick.

BANG!

The man closed his eyes as the gunshot rang through the air and the screaming came to an end, then went over to the leader as I stood there, stunned. Someone with a bullhorn was saying, "This never happened. You never saw any of this. Now move along, people. Nothing to see. Move it along."

The leader came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, son. We had to put her to sleep."

"WHAT?!" My jaw must have dropped twenty feet.

"She was too much of a problem," he said sadly. 

"YOU _KILLED_ SAKURA?!?!?!"

"Killed?" He blinked, then burst out laughing. "No, no, sleep as in the literal sense! She's _asleep._ That was a _tranquilizer dart."_

"Oh" I let out a sigh of relief; and then it sank in. "You _shot_ her with a _tranquilizer dart?!_"

"Standard procedure," he replied with a impassive shrug as Eriol and the others ran up behind him. 

"What happened?"

"Where's Sakura?"

"Yeah, good question," I said, turning to him. "Where _is_ she? What are you going to do with her?"

"She's going to have a nice long nap," he said coolly.

"They put her to sleep," I explained. 

Six pairs of mouths fell wide open. "WHAT?!"

"YOU _KILLED_ SAKURA?!"

"WHAT?!"  
"THEY _KILLED_ SAKURA?!"  
"OMIGOD!"

"SAKURA'S _DEAD?!_"

I let out a long sigh. This was going to take some explaining

"So, let me get this straight," Eriol said skeptically. "You're going to stay here with the Disneyland Nazis—"

Agent Keller coughed pointedly and muttered, "The _law-enforcers,"_ through gritted teeth.

"—and wait for Sakura to wake up, and then meet us at 4:00 at the statue. Is that right?"

"Yeah." I sent him my glare. "Is there a problem?"

He blinked innocently. "No, not at all. I just think it's funny how much you do for the person you love."

I turned a brilliant red and clenched my hands to keep from strangling him on the spot. "Don't—"

"You _love_ her," he taunted. "You think she's _gorgeous._ You want to _kiss_—"

I lost it, and two of the Disney Secret Service Agents held me back. 

"I think we'd better be going," he said lightly. "Ta-ta, descendant." They trooped out the door and I sat down, ignoring all the strange looks I was getting. 

"Descendant?" Keller asked.

"We're relatives," I lied. 

"I see" His beeper went off, and he picked it up. "Keller here. Code Yellow? Quadrant A-3? I'm on it." Turning to his agents, he said briskly, "There's a lost kid in Toon Town. Let's _move,_ people!Kid, you stay here with your girlfriend," he ordered me. "No funny stuff, or Disney isn't responsible."

"She's _not_ my girlfriend!"

"Whatever. If she wakes up and she's still a little out there, give her one of these—" he tossed me a pill bottle "—just one, they're chewable, and it should eliminate any traces of it left. Don't leave her alone and don't let her out of this room unless you're positive she's back to normal." With an impressive swirl of a black trench coat, Agent Keller strode away. 

I wearily sat down in a chair next to the bed where Sakura was lying, unconscious. In this state, she wasn't looking particularly vicious or threatening. In fact, she was just like her normal self—sweet and beautiful. 

A hair fell across her eyelid, touching it ever so slightly. She flinched, and I brushed it away, smiling wryly down at her. Everything was quiet and calm in the part of the administration building we were in; the bright sunshine streamed in from a window and fell across white walls. 

She stirred a little, then turned over, muttering something about the cannibalistic Twinkies. I checked my watch—about 3:20. Forty minutes until we had to meet the rest of the group. Agent Keller had said she would wake up at around 3:30, so I had some free time. 

I walked around the room, thinking. This wasn't something I'd expected to be doing at Disneyland—waiting for an unconscious Sakura to wake up because of the tranquilizer dart they'd used. 

Sakura moaned, buried her head in the pillow, then peeked out. "Are the sausages gone?"

"What?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

__

Dammit, she's still psycho. I picked up the bottle and stared at it, then unscrewed the lid and picked out one. "Sakura, would you like some candy?"

"Candy?" She bounced up and down excitedly, like a little child. "Candycandycandy!"

"Here you go." I dropped the pill into her hand.

"Yay!" She popped it into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. A few seconds later, she passed out again. I caught her before she hit her head on the wall and wondered if something had gone wrong. About a minute passed, and then she shook her head and sat back up, running a hand through her hair. "What—what happened?"

"You ingested some of the water on the Pirates of the Caribbean," I informed her wryly. 

"Oh yeah" She blinked, then gasped and covered her face with her hands. "Oh my goddid I really tackle Donald Duck?"

"Yep," I confirmed tonelessly. "It was an interesting sight."

"That is _so_ not funny," she said miserably. "Are they going to kick us out?"

"Nope. We're meeting the others at the statue in—" I checked my watch "Thirty-five minutes."

"Oh." She stayed silent for a moment. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? We've got rides to go on!"

"Aren't you—aren't you sick or something?" I asked incredulously. "Or tired?"

"Nope!" She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. "Let's go!"

"Okay," I sighed. "Where do you want to go first?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, it's Ms Insanity!"

I scowled at them. "Shut _up!_" 

"It was priceless," Tomoyo said smugly, patting her camera. 

"You _taped_ it?!"

"No, she didn't," Syaoran said flatly. "Nice try."

[AN: Wow, it's latein fact, it's 12:14 AM. I'm still wide awake, too, which is kinda scary.]

"So now what do we do?" Eriol asked. 

"Well, what haven't we been on?" Rika asked. 

Naoko and I exchanged glances, and we both yelled at the same time, "SLEEPING BEAUTY'S CASTLE!"

"YEAH!"

"Awwww"

__

WHAM!

"Don't diss the castle," Chiharu sniffed, putting the hammer away.

"Can we stay as far away from anything that has to do with Sleeping Beauty as possible?" Syaoran muttered.

"Hey, that's _right!_ I remember that!" Rika grinned. "You two had to play the Prince and Princess!"

I blushed, remembering how close I'd been to kissing him on several occasions and yet I'd never taken advantage of that fact. _I was a true and royal dumbass_

"Now we _really_ have to go!" Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, and Tomoyo literally dragged us there and shoved us up the stairs. I blushed at every little window showing the story, remembering how we had had to act it out. Finally, we were out, and Eriol caught sight of the painting across the way from us. It was the Prince about to kiss Sleeping Beauty, and upon seeing it, I blushed wildly.

"I can think of a caption for that," Eriol muttered to Yamazaki.

"What?"

"The Princess, saying, 'No tongue!'"

I just about died.

Thanks to that little episode, I couldn't look at Syaoran for the next half an hour, but after a few more rides and trying to forget it, it moved to the back of my mind. We were resting on a bench outside of the bathrooms while Eriol was getting a second look at his dinner, only pre-digested, in the Men's Room—we'd just been on the Teacups. Night was just beginning; it was between twilight and night. 

"I want to go on the Merry-go-round!" Chiharu announced suddenly as Eriol came out, paler than usual but looking better than he had been. 

"There's a Merry-go-round?" I asked. I absolutely adored merry-go-rounds 

"Yeah! Come on!" She ran off and I followed her, and the rest of the group came after us. 

As soon as it came into sight, I gasped. It was a magnificent, old-fashioned merry-go-round, with beautifully carved horses, bright paintings, mirrors dotting the design, and lights illuminating the entire thing. I hadn't seen one like this for years, and I could feel the childhood excitement beginning to race through me. I'd been delighted by these as a child, and the exhilaration was no less now.

"Come on!" The shift was just ending as I raced up and handed the person a dollar. The gate swung open and I scrambled onto the stage, then set out in search of the perfect horse. Finding the right one, I perched on it, and soon Tomoyo, Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko got on the ones around me. The music started, and the horse moved forward ever so slightly. Things started moving, slow at first, and then getting gradually faster. Around and around we went; everything was a blur of light and color. We were all laughing and smiling like little girls again. 

As I went around, something caught my eye: a figure, bathed in the light. It was Syaoran, and he was watching me. We locked eyes for a moment, and then I was taken away. When I came back, he was talking with Eriol and Yamazaki, who I supposed were too 'manly' to go on a merry-go-round. 

Eventually, it slowed, then came to a halt, and we reluctantly got off. I was a little behind the others, and when we got off, we couldn't see the boys. I heard them saying something about looking for them and going to find them, and then running off, and I started to follow but lost them in the crowd.

__

Now what?

I was alone in Disneyland, without a clue as to where any of my classmates were.

"Sakura!" 

I whirled around and saw Syaoran. "Where is everybody?"

"I don't know!" He shrugged helplessly. "Yamazaki and Eriol just ran off, saying they were looking for you guys!"

"That's what Chiharu and the others were doing! They're looking for you guys!"

"Great" He ran a hand through his hair.

"Wellif we stick together, maybe we can find them," I said hopefully.

"Yeah. I think our best bet is over by the—"

He was cut off as a voice came over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for our Fireworks Spectacular!"

"The statue!" he finished.

"I _love_ it hereI wish I could come here every day! I wish I could stay forever in this magical place!" a little boy's voice cooed from every speaker. "If you believe, you can do anything! Just believe!"

"Okay," I yelled over the music.

There was a burst of light overhead, and I looked up to see sparks falling. A crack rang through the air. 

Now, I'm not exactly sure how we did this. We were both walking with our eyes on the sky, not watching where we were going, and suddenly we found ourselves in a strange place, amid dozens of people running around and meddling with what looked like rockets. As I watched, a timer went off, and one shot into the air and exploded.

Somehow, we were where the fireworks were being fired from. 

There was no denying it: If someone found out that two eighth graders were where we were, a whole crapload of people would be in trouble. 

"We need to get out of here!" I hissed during a break between launches. 

Suddenly, the one near me went off while I was looking at it. The flare from the jet temporarily blinded me, and I fumbled around for anything that might tell me exactly where I was, my free hand covering my eyes. 

A warm hand wrapped around mine and towed me away. "It's me," Syaoran said lowly under all the chaos. "Just follow me."

I mutely walked behind him, waiting for my eyes to clear. Then I bumped into something and Syaoran swore. "What did I hit?"

"One of the fireworks—but we don't have time for that, we've got to keep moving." He led me on.

Eventually the ground turned smooth under my feet, and I knew we were back in the main part of the park. "Where are we?"  
"In front of the castle," he answered. "We're going to the statue." 

"Okay." I kept my hand over my eyes, even though I was willing to bet I could see by now. That way, he would hold my hand a little longer. 

Finally, we made it there. "There's no one here," he reported flatly. "We might as well wait." 

I sat down and forced my eyes open, adjusted to the darkness, and looked around. Fireworks were still exploding overhead, making the whole scene look like a Kodak moment. The castle was completely empty by now—it was always closed before the Fireworks Spectacular—but it was also lit up and set against the best background you could ask for. The entire thing was a great picture. 

Syaoran and I watched it as it went on and on. The only thing I liked really were the fireworks. The music and voiceovers were downright corny, but the fireworks were amazing. 

A spotlight illuminated "Tinkerbell" from her perch on the Matterhorn peak. She was just launching into "flight" when something shot up from the fireworks area, then fell back down—

And landed in Sleeping Beauty Castle.

__

KABOOM!

There was an explosion, and Syaoran pulled me behind the statue, shielding us from the flying debris and blast of heat. A terrible roar rocked the entire park, and then there was silence. 

Shaking, I stood and peered from behind the statue. 

Sleeping Beauty Castle was a burning ruin.

We stared at each other, aghast, thinking of the firework I'd bumped into. 

The charred body of one of the swans they had swimming around landed with a thump nearby, and a screaming Tinkerbell crashed into the trees. I realized that Mickey and Disney had become a little melted around the edges.

"Remember," the little boy said as the music came to an end. "Just BELIEVE"

I swallowed hard. "You don't suppose I could, um, use the Erase Card?" 

"I don't think it would work," he said distractedly. 

"HOLY SHIT!"

Most of our class stood behind us, and the rest ran up behind them, staring at the smoking ruins. They were all holding ice cream cones that I guessed Mr. Terada had bought them.

Eriol calmly walked over, holding two extra, and held them out. "Ice Cream?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Admit it. You _hate_ me. You want to _kill_ me. You think I'm _evil._ ^_^ No arguments here on any of those! I think the next chapter's going to be interesting tooThe next is going to be the attack of the Card I am most proud of (other than the High). What could possibly be sopride-inducing?

Simple: The Opposite! Now, if you don't think it's that big of a deal, just wait After all, this is JadeWing you're dealing with here. I mean, it's 1:31 IN THE MORNING right now, and I've spent about three hours straight just writing this! AND I DON'T CARE! SO XP! 


	5. Bad To the Bone

Vacation!

Chapter Five: Bad To the Bone

Okely dokely, JadeWing's back! I think you guys are gonna LOVE this chapter. In my opinion, it's one of the best story ideas I've had. Thanks a TON for all your guys' great reviews and all; I can't tell you how much it means to me. 

Golly, I'm babbling now, aren't I?

Screw this. Let's get the chapter started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So," Eriol said casually, rubbing his hands together. "Let me get this straight. You demolished an animatronic piece of machinery worth possible thousands, assaulted a well-known and beloved character, and leveled Sleeping Beauty's palace—all within twenty-four hours."

"Well, um" I stalled. "Uh, yeah."

There was a pause, and then he said, "You know, I think you're finally starting to get the hang of it."

"DECIMATING ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR THEME PARKS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS **NOT** A GOOD THING!" Syaoran yelled as I reflected on how grateful I was that this little conversation was being held back in the beach house that wasn't on the beach, on an island almost too small to be an island. "IF ANYONE FOUND OUT WE WOULD BE IN MORE TROUBLE THAN—THAN ANYTHING **YOU** COULD COME UP WITH! **AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE _POSSIBLE!_**"

Eriol shrugged. "I know. Mind-boggling, isn't it?"

"Did he just say_mind-boggling?_" Tomoyo asked slowly. 

"Unless I heard wrong, yes." I yawned.

"There's a spider!" Tomoyo swiftly tucked her feet under her, bringing them up from the ground. "Ew!"

Eriol lifted a foot to smash it, but I stopped him. "Hey, he's more scared of us than we are of him, okay?" Grabbing a magazine, I scooped the arachnid onto the cover and deposited him in a corner of the room. "If we don't hurt them, he doesn't hurt us. We shouldn't be killing anything more than we already are."

"Since when did you become a Buddhist?" Eriol asked dryly. 

"I just don't like it when innocent things get killed," I sniffed. 

"What about the castle?" he asked pointedly.

"IT WASN'T ALIVE TO BEGIN WITH!" Syaoran yelled.

"Yeah" I fought and failed to keep my eyes open. "Look, after hallucinating from whatever's in that water and blowing up the palace and all, I'm kinda tired, okay? We can go discuss this on Jerry Springer or whatever in the morning."

"She's right," Syaoran said with a scowl as I headed to my room. "We can talk about this later. AND NO ONE SAYS ANYTHING." No one knew all the damage we'd caused from the Disneyland excursion, but the chances were that if someone told, we'd all be grounded until we were so old that a hot date referred to a day in August. 

Blinking exhaustedly, I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. There was a flicker of magic just as I slipped into sleep, but I figured it was Eriol trying to impress Tomoyo or something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I whirled around just as the door to my room closed behind me. Magic had come in a sharp burst from Sakura's room, which either meant that she had used a spell, Eriol was using a spell in there—and there were so many things wrong with him being in her room in the first place that I knew I'd pound the crap out of him if he _was_—or there was a Card nearby. 

I threw the door open as Eriol jumped to his feet. However, no sound came from the door to her room; no mental calls for help. He told Tomoyo what was going on as I stared at the door, apprehensive. Tomoyo slowly went to it and opened it just a crack, and we all peered in. She was fast asleep, looking utterly peaceful. 

And drop-dead gorgeous, but I wasn't going to point that out anytime soon.

There was a soft click as she shut it and whispered, "Nothing to worry about."

"Must have been a freak accident or something," Eriol said uneasily. 

"Yeah," I distractedly agreed. "See you in the morning."

____

__

Wham!

I sat up as the crash resounded throughout the formerly-small house. _What the hell?_

Getting dressed quickly, I opened the door to find no one at all. Confused, I walked out, looking around for the source of the noise. _Did I imagine it?_

And then I came to the kitchen.

A figure, clad in black leather, was drinking milk straight out of the carton. 

"Ah, _that_ hits the spot." The mysterious person wiped her chin and turned around.

It was Sakura. But not just regular Sakura. 

This was Sakura in a black miniskirt, thigh-highs, a _really, really _tight tube top that showed way too much of her stomach for _my_ comfort, a leather jacket, amazingly heavy makeup, a studded black choker, black lipstick, and this really—well, _bitchy_—look on her face. 

My jaw hit the floor. 

"Take a picture, sweetcakes, it'll last longer," she snapped, brushing past me and tossing the empty carton on the floor. 

I just stood there, stunned and blinking, my mouth still wide open. Several flies buzzed in and out during the next few minutes until I finally dragged it closed.

__

I think this is some kind of strange, strange dream

Eventually, I regained the power of movement in my limbs and slowly turned around, walking dazedly into the living room.

Where Sakura was sprawled on the couch, watching _pro wrestling._

"Kick his ass, you wimp! God, I could whip his ass any day!" She scowled at the man currently having his knee bent behind him. "What a moron."

Something was _definitely_ up. 

"Um" I started, unsure of what to say.

She glanced up, then returned her gaze back to the TV as if I was no more than a fly on the wall. "What do you want?" When I didn't answer right away, she snapped, "Get a _move_ on, dumbass. I don't have all day."

The door opened and Eriol walked out, stretching. "Good morning," he yawned. 

"What's with El Nerdo?" Sakura asked roughly. "Ever heard of contacts, four-eyes? And what the _hell_ did you do to your hair?"

Eriol made this funny noise, like half-choke, half-cough, and blinked at her. 

"Um" I began again.

"Is that all you can say?" she demanded, giving me this _look._ Not just any look, either. 

Up until now, I had thought I was the only one who could make people quiver in fear with a single glare. But the look she was giving me shattered those thoughts and threw them to the wind. One of _those,_ and she could kill relatively small animals. 

Eriol gave me a suspicious glance, and I glared right back at him. "What did you _do_ to her?" I asked wearily.

He held his hands up. _"I_ didn't do anything."

"Like I'd let him," Sakura snorted. "Now move your scrawny ass, four-eyes, before I have to kick it out of the way."

Wide-eyed, Eriol moved away from the TV and dragged me into the kitchen. _"What_ the _hell_ is going on?" 

"If I had a damn clue about it, trust me, you'd know," I shot back.

And then it hit me. 

"You know something," Eriol said as I straightened, staring into space, my thoughts racing.

"YeahYeah, remember how there was that flare right before she went to sleep?" I asked slowly. 

His eyes widened. "You think it's a Card? Which one?"

I shrugged helplessly. "How should I know?"

"Logic," he said smoothly. "High and Riddle can't possibly be it, because they've been caught."

"Repeat wouldn't make her change like this," I mused. "Inner monologue—what does that do?"

Eriol thought for a minute, then said, "It was made to get people to speak their opinions more often, but"

"It wouldn't turn her into a goth-bitch," I finished as he nodded. "So that leaves"

"The Opposite," we said grimly in unison. 

"How long will it last?" I asked. 

"Most of the Cards don't have the power to go for more than twenty-four hours, and as I recall, the Opposite isn't an exception. The problem is, no matter what we do, the spell can't be removed for the twenty-four hours. The victim is stuck until the day has passed."

"So we've got to deal with—with the opposite of Sakura—for a whole _day?_"

"Looks like it." Eriol ran a hand through his hair. "This oughta be _real_ interesting."

There was a creak as a door opened in another room. "Good morning—" Tomoyo's voice cut off, and then she asked slowly, _"Sakura?!"_

"No, I'm the Easter Rabbit," a sarcastic voice answered. "Really I am. Honestly, does _anyone_ here use their minds at all?"

__

Real interesting is right

"I'll be right back," Eriol said hastily, vanishing into the living room. In a moment, he reappeared, a distraught Tomoyo in tow.

"She—she—" Tomoyo couldn't continue and broke into more tears.

"Sakura said she didn't like any of her costumes," Eriol muttered to me. 

"Oh." I sat down in a chair, hard. "So what do we do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No, Eriol." Syaoran glared at me. "We are _not_ hanging her from the porch until she's back to normal."

"And what do you propose?" I returned. "Doing your scarf dance and mesmerizing her?"

__

"Scarf dance?" Tomoyo asked incredulously as the bathroom door slammed. We were leaving Sakura to her own devices for now. "My _god,_ what kind of morals does your clan _have?_"

"There is _no such thing_ as a Clan scarf dance," he said angrily. "That isn't—" He broke off, staring at the open doorway, his face turning an interesting shade of wine red. He silently mouthed _Dear GOD,_ his voice clearly not working.

I turned around in time to see a clothesless Sakura stalk towards her room. "**HEL**LO **SUN**SHINE." I covered my eyes and whirled back around, asking, "Is she gone?"

"How the _hell_ should I know?!" Syaoran demanded. Peeking through my fingers, I saw he'd slapped a hand over his eyes too. 

"I would have thought that _you_ of all people would've been watching!" I straightened, reveling in his blush, and glanced over at Tomoyo, who was red-faced. A minute later, she burst into laughter.

"You—you should've seen your f-f-f-faces!" she wheezed, hanging onto the counter for support. "I swear—"

The door crashed open again, and Syaoran's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. 

__

My god, he's obsessed. I grinned wryly as he ducked, trying to hide a blush. 

The bathroom door closed, and I asked dryly, "She playing 'Nudist Colony Leader' again?"

He nodded, beet-red. 

"I wonder what she's going to do now," Tomoyo mused. 

"I don't know, maybe flash Mr. Terada." That was the kind of thing I would say just to see how people would react. I wasn't disappointed.

__

"Why, you—" Syaoran growled.

"Eriol!" Tomoyo scowled.

"Yeah, you're right," I said, pretending to be abashed. "She'd flash Ms. Mizuki instead."

This time, Syaoran stood up, his hands clenched into fists.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I held up my hands in innocence. "I'm _complimenting_ her!"

That stopped both him and Tomoyo, who looked ready to burst into tears again. _"What?!"_ she asked slowly. 

"Well, if the _opposite_ of her is—um—uninhibited, then the _real_ Sakura isn't," I explained. "Two negatives make a positive. Simple." Seeing their blank looks, I sighed. "Okay, here's an example. Opposite-Sakura isn't afraid to hurt other people. Real-Sakura _is._ She would tell the Elephant Man he was looking fabulous. So, if Opposite-Sakura is" I tried to think of the right phrase.

"A whore?" 

We all whirled around to see Sakura standing in the doorway, re-decked in black leather. She strode in, ignoring us completely, went to the fridge, and stuck her head inside, looking for something. "Have we got any beer?"

"Um" Tomoyo said slowly. 

"Dammit!" She straightened. "Yeah, I know I'm a whore. What's it to you?"

There was tense silence. None of us really knew what to do with her. 

Looking down, she saw the spider from the previous night scurrying across the floor. A revolted look crossed her face.

__

Wham!

A black smudge on the vinyl was all that was left of the spider.

You know, sometimes my descendant can be a real wimp. For instance, when it comes to Sakura—the_ real _Sakura—he turns into the biggest baby I've ever seen. Of course, I'm not exactly Iron Man around Tomoyobut that doesn't matter.

Anyway, sometimes he can be a baby. And then sometimes he can be pretty gutsy. Like demanding the Cards from an untrained but highly powerful young sorceress. Stupid, delusional, and definitely dangerous—she could have fried him where he stood if she was scared enough and he knew it—but he did it anyway. There were definite times when he was gutsy.

This was one of them.

An odd look came into his eyes, and I swear he was thinking, _Time for a little tough love._ Only he wouldn't admit to it in a million years.

Anyway, he stood up and looked her in the eye. "There's a Card that needs to be caught, Sakura. Do you sense it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I'd have to _care_ first, so"

He returned her glare—something he was actually pretty damn good at. "I mean it. Where is it, Sakura?"

She shrugged indifferently and started to walk away. He blocked the doorway. 

"Get out of my way," she said icily.

"Tell me," he replied just as coldly. 

There was a pause, the tension almost tangible.

"Get a life, jackass," she snarled, ducking past. We watched her storm into her room in silence.

"Okay," Syaoran said finally, his voice quiet. "I _really_ do not like her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a knock on the door, and Eriol got up to answer it as I leaned against the wall. Things were not looking very fun at the moment. 

"We're leaving to go tour Los Angeles," Mr. Terada said cheerfully. "Everyone's meeting at the main house in an hour. Pack enough clothes to stay the night, because we can't see all of the city in a single day."

We had forgotten about the trip to Los Angeles.

__

Dear Lordthis is going to get really, really ugly, really fast, isn't it?

____

I tried to ignore Opposite-Sakura. _I **really** wish she was back to normal_

Opposite-Sakura was trying to start an argument with me by insulting anything about me she could think of—me, my appearance, my intelligence, and more than I wanted to think about. She was in the middle of commenting on how it looked like I hadn't washed my face in the past three years that I finally lost it and, for the sake of silence, just said, "Shut _up,_ for the love of _god._"

Which only egged her on.

__

I think I should get a pair of ear plugs.

"When was the last time you took a shower? The Renaissance?"

__

I **know** I should get a pair of earplugs

Gritting my teeth, I stared out the window. 

____

"No, Sakura, we _can't_ go to the Tattoo parlor" Tomoyo clamped a hand around her friend's wrist and dragged her on.   
"PIERCINGS! LET ME **GO!** I WANT MY EYEBROW PIERCED!"

I watched as Eriol popped another Tylenol. "If you aren't careful, you'll get addicted," I warned. 

"So what?" he muttered. "I swear, I'm getting a migraine."

"Why the _hell_ did you make this Card?" I asked wearily.

He straightened, and that evil gleam came back into his eyes. "Well, for one thing, it was to reveal someone's true personality. For another, it was a test of loyalty—to see if their friends would stick with them, even though the person was nothing like themselves. And lastly, it was made based on the old saying—absence makes the heart grow fonder. By dealing with someone utterly unlike their beloved, it brought a couple closer together. Admit it." He lowered his voice. "It worked. You miss Sakura." 

"Who wouldn't?" I asked, trying not to blush. "No one really likes the hell bitch we've got right now."

"But you miss the real Sakura most of all," he said slyly. 

"Okay, just _don't_ go there," I said tensely, running a hand through my hair. The sun shone down on us, beating harshly, but I was used to it. 

We rounded a corner, and then heard yells. Looking ahead, I gaped at the sight I saw. 

A bunch of bikers were running after Sakura, yelling furiously, although one was lying on the ground, bleeding. She roared past us, straddling a motorcycle and in the middle of popping a wheelie. For someone who'd only ridden on one and never actually driven one, it was a pretty spectacular display—especially due to the fact that it was an eighth grader riding a Harley-Davidson. 

It took me a minute to register the fact that _Sakura_ was zooming up the street on a stolen motorcycle. My eyes landed on the row of motorcycles under the sign for a bar; there was a gap where one had been.

A pair of keys dangled from the ignition of another one. Someone must have been in the middle of starting up when he left to help his friend.

I swallowed, reminded myself of all the things that would happen to her if she was left alone in Los Angeles, and jumped on. _This can't be that different from riding a bike._ The key clicked as I wrenched it in the ignition and the motor roared to life. 

"HEY!"

__

Oh shit I gunned the engine and it shot down the street. Sakura had taken a left turn, so I turned that way too. A ways off, a figure in black leather was cruising easily down the street, looking like she'd done it all of her life. There was a flash of ginger as she suddenly whirled around and searched for something. Seeing me, her eyes narrowed and she sped up, then turned a sharp right. The tires squealed as I hurtled after her. 

She wove throughout the streets and alleys of Los Angeles, doing her best to lose me, and all the time I was worrying that she'd get in some kind of crash and nearly kill herself. Well, that she'd crash and kill Sakura. Whatever it was that had taken her over, I didn't like it. 

Suddenly, I realized we were going _up._

We leveled out—on the highway. 

"Sakura, knock it off!" I yelled. "We don't even know how to drive a JAPANESE car! WE'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!"

Her only response was to go even faster. Soon, she disappeared, weaving around the cars, and I tailed her as best I could. _We **really** need to get off the highway before she gets hurt_

I caught sight of her heading down an off-ramp and took after her with a sigh, ignoring honks from motorists. Riding a motorcycle was actually kind of fun, but I really just wanted this little joyride to be over. 

You know how they have that one phrase? _Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it?_

Well, I know what they mean now.

A grate of metal against metal split the air just as I turned the corner. Sakura was lying a few feet from the fallen motorcycle, her face white. I jumped off, letting the motorcycle fall where I'd left it, and ran to her side as she sat up. 

And then she started bawling at the top of her lungs. 

__

I **really, really** need to get those earplugs.

I knelt by her as she cradled her arm, which was bent at an odd angle. "Is it broken?"

"OF COURSE IT'S @#$%*&$ BROKEN!" she bellowed. "USE YOUR DAMN HEAD!"

I ignored her shrieking and looked around for the nearest payphone. Fortunately, one was nearby, and I called for an ambulance. It came in a few minutes and screeched to a halt in front of us. The meds weren't that much older than us—maybe five years, at most—and they didn't mind the way Sakura was dressed at all. I glowered at them, but laughed when I heard Sakura yelling at them to stay the hell away from her. _If this wasn't such a serious situation, it'd be funnier than hell._

___

I paced around the waiting room, trying to get a mental connection to Eriol. _Eriol! This is important!_

Finally, he responded. _Where are you?_

In the hospital. Sakura crashed and broke her arm.

Really?

Yeah. Listen, I need you to make people forget about this. Make them think she's back to normal or something, and that she fell. Messing with people's your specialty, isn't it?

Right. There was almost a smug overtone. _I'm on it. Which hospital?_

__

St. Mary's. We're going to need a ride back, too. 

Not a problem. There was a click as he shut his end down. I could feel the magic flare up far away.

____

The door closed behind me, and I wearily dropped my backpack onto the bed, more than ready for the day to be over. Even though she'd broken her arm, Sakura was just as pissy as before, and we'd had to drag her—literally—away from every tattoo parlor, piercing store, and Satan-worshiper's convention we saw. 

The streetlight came through the curtain, but vanished when I flipped the light switch on. The room was small, clean, and comfortable. It would work. 

I checked my watch. 10:43. Three minutes until she was back to normal again, and then we could catch the Card. And seal it away. Never to return.

There was a knock on the door, and I walked over and opened it wearily. "What do—"

Sakura was standing there, an odd look in her eyes. She took a step forward. I took one back, suddenly nervous. She took another step, and another, until finally I had backed into the wall. 

"What's the matter?" she cooed. "I thought you were a _man."_

My eyes widened and I blushed furiously, realizing exactly what she had come here for. "N-n-n-n-no—I—uh—"

"You aren't a man?" She grinned suddenly, showing far too many teeth, and took another step. "Why don't we check"

"Uh, no, n-no—um—ch-ch-checking," I stammered, edging away. 

Her eyes narrowed in a predator's smile, and she licked her lips, then lunged at me. I ducked under her and rolled away. _Oh my god, she's trying to rape me._

This is **beyond** weird

She got to her feet again and managed to pin me to the ground. This had gone too far a long, long time ago. _ERIOL!_ I mentally yelled for help, trying to get away. The only reply was a sleepy mumble—he'd already gone to bed. _Oh NO_

I managed to get free and was scrambling frantically away when Sakura sat up, looked at me, and fainted. 

"Sakura!" I caught her before she hit her head on the bed. _What just happened?_

Then I glanced at the clock. 10: 46—the twenty-four hours were over. 

I could have cried, I was so relieved. And then it occurred to me that she might remember what all had happened. 

__

I think I hate this CardNo, I **know** I hate this Card.

Sakura flinched and shifted, then sat up, blinking drowsily. "Whawhat hap—" She broke off, her eyes popping, and clapped a hand over her mouth, speechless. As I watched, she flushed with humiliation, clearly remembering what had gone on in the past twenty-four hours. She started blinking rapidly, and a tear fell slowly down her cheek. 

I swallowed, feeling really bad for her. "It's okay. No one remembers it—Eriol fixed that—and you're back to normal" I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, hiding her face in her knees. "Oh my godSyaoran, I'm so sorry"

"For what?" I asked confusedly. "Sakura, none of that was your fault. We just need to get that Card, and it'll be over."

"Did you want something?" Eriol asked tiredly from the doorway. 

__

You're a little late, chief, I sent him silently. "Uh—yeah. Do you know where the Card is?"

He was about to reply when something bounced into the room. It looked around at us, winked at Sakura, and then whacked me over the head with the wand it had. Everything went black. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Syaoran!" It was my turn to catch him as the pixie disappeared into thin air. "Eriol, what _was_ that thing?"

"The Opposite," he said wearily. "Oh boy" 

"How long is it—twenty-four hours?" He nodded wearily, and I looked over to the clock. "Great. So what do we do?"

"Um—you might want to go let Tomoyo know you're back and Syaoran's a little different," he said worriedly. "Unless I miss my guess, he isn't going to be very nice when he wakes up."

"Right," I said hastily. "I'll be back in a few minutes." I got out of there as fast as I could and went to Tomoyo's room, knocking on the door. She had always been a night owl, so I knew she wouldn't be asleep. 

"Yes?" She opened the door. Seeing me, a shadow crossed her face. "Oh—um—"

"I'm normal," I told her quickly. "Nice old me."

"Oh, good," she said with obvious relief.

"Was I that bad?" I asked sadly. "Oh yeah, and the Opposite got Syaoran."

"Oh. I assume you don't want to be there when he wakes up?"  
I shook my head. "If I didn't like Syaoran when I was opposite-ed, and we're friends, I don't think he's going to like me."

"Well, come on in." I walked in and she shut the door, adding, "Although I wouldn't exactly say you're friendsseems like a little more than that, if you ask me." 

I flushed. "Tomoyo!"

"Well, we all can tell you like him," she said with a careless shrug. "At least, I can. And Eriol."

I hid my face in my hands. "This isn't exactly comforting!"

"Hey, the truth can hurt," she said casually. "Wonder what's on TV?"

I flopped down on the floor as she switched it on. "Anything but pro wrestling," I said with a shudder. 

We found a movie and watched it for the next few minutes, trying to understand the English. I managed to pick out a few words here and there, but it was almost impossible to understand. Finally, the suspense was too much, and I stood up. "I'm going to go check on them."

"I'll come with you." She stood up too. 

"Is that because you're worried about them or because Eriol's in that room?" I asked slyly. 

"Uh—um—" She blushed as I smirked. 

"Admit it. You want him. You need him. Oh baby, oh baby." 

**__**

"NO!" she yelled, red-faced. 

I picked myself up from where I'd been thrown into the wall from the sheer decibels of that yell alone and shook my head wearily. "Tomoyo, I think some people would really prefer to keep their eardrums."

"Well, _some_ people shouldn't make assumptions," she sniffed, heading out the door.

A yell rang down the hall, and Eriol shot out of Syaoran's room.

"Oh, Eeeeeriiiioooooool, come _ba-_ack"

There was a blur of pink as _something_ shot past, chasing a white-faced Eriol. 

Slowly, Tomoyo and I turned around and looked down the hallway. I managed to move my legs and went to the open door of Syaoran's room. No one was there.

"Um" I turned around and stared down the hallway. Nothing.

A low sound started getting louder, then turned into a familiar yell. 

__

"What's wrong?" another voice called. It was strange to me, yet oddly familiar. _"Why are you running from me?"_

Eriol hurtled around the corner, his hair in wild disarray and his glasses askew. Seeing us, he dove behind me as the pink figure came into sight. 

It was Syaoran.

My jaw dropped by about five feet, and I just stared at him.

"Oh, _there_ you are," he said—in a voice about an octave higher than usual. He walked over to me and, making exaggerated hand gestures, said, "Sakura, I just LOVE that color on YOU." He circled me as Eriol darted around, keeping me between him and Syaoran. "Is this Gucci? Or Roxy? It's just _adorable._"

Tomoyo blinked. "Actually, it's by Girlfriends L.A."

He clucked his tongue. "I _should_ have _known,_" he sighed, flapping a hand. _"Honestly,_ I _don't_ know _what's_ got into me. Now, Eriol, if only you'd let me cut your hair"

"NO!" Eriol covered his head with his hands and ducked away, then backed up, making the sign of the cross. "Just _stay back._"

"And those _clothes,"_ Syaoran said fretfully. "Won't you at _least_ wear something by Coco Chanel? She's _such_ a genius."

"Isn't she?" Tomoyo asked enthusiastically. "Did you see her newest line?"

"Not yet," he replied mournfully. "Oh, I _wish_ I had, thoughI _am_ so behind with the fashion world."

"You know, Valentino's just fabulous." She pulled out a magazine and flipped through the pages, then held up a picture. "Look at this! Sarah Michelle Gellar is just _gorgeous_ in this, isn't she?"

"Totally," he agreed. "And then J-Lo"

In a minute, they were comparing notes as Eriol and I watched, dumbfounded. 

"You _love_ this guy?" he whispered. 

I blushed. "The _opposite_ of this guy. And you should talk, Mr. Tomoyo-obsessive." 

____

The next morning was even stranger. 

I woke up at 5:13 to the grate of wheels against tile clattering down the hall. My arm was thrown dramatically across the pillow, like I'd been in some kind of play. The cast was gone—I'd healed my arm already, and Eriol had made most people forget it was broken in the first place—which was a definite plus. 

There was a clatter and a thud, and I sat up. Frowning, I sat up, pulled on a bathrobe, and opened the door. 

Syaoran rolled past, poised on a skateboard, and as I watched, speechless, he tried to do an ollie and fell on his face. The skateboard landed in front of him. 

"DUUUUUDE!" He hurriedly scrambled back to his feet. "THAT WAS SCHWEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!"

If I had had anything to eat, I would have thrown it up. 

"Syaoran?" I tried to get his attention.

He whirled around. "What is it, babe?"

__

Did he just call me 'babe'?

I blushed. "Umit's really earlyyou might want to save the skateboarding for another few hours"

"Aw, nah," he said cheerfully. "This is the best time to board!" He dropped his skateboard and put a foot on it, ready to set off once more. 

"Um—uh, no, it isn't," I said, hastily grabbing his arm. "You—uh—have to wait for the—the lighting to be right. Yeah, the lighting."

He blinked dully, and I realized that because Syaoran had been smart, the opposite of him was therefore a dumbass. "Oh. Well, okay then." He went back to his room quietly and I shook my head in pure rue. 

_____ 

"Dude, like, you _so_ have _got_ to get a haircut," Syaoran pleaded with Eriol as we sat in the diner, waiting for breakfast. "Look! There's a Great Clips! Long hair is _so_ yesterday!" 

"Actually, it's definitely making a comeback," Tomoyo said thoughtfully. "A lot off the celebrities—"

__

"Excuse me, but was I _talking_ to you?" Syaoran asked huffily. 

We exchanged glances. "Be polite, Syaoran," I said sternly. 

He clucked his tongue and did this odd sort of shrug, and then turned back to Eriol. "I _don't_ know why you aren't listening to me on this." He turned his back and thrust his chin in the air, as though wounded. 

And then his eyes landed on some of the girls walking past the diner. His eyes widened, and you could almost see the little hearts coming from them. In fact, if you really looked, you _could_ see the little hearts shooting out of them.

He nearly knocked the table over in his haste to get out the door. As I watched, he walked up to them, and proceeded to engage them in a conversation. Both of the girls were blushing furiously—I didn't blame them for having good taste; Syaoran was downright _hot_—and, from their looks, were being hit on fairly hard. 

I felt like someone had wrenched my heart out, steamrollered it until it was large enough to cover a dance floor, and called up the Riverdance cast to pound it into the ground even more. 

This was not breaking my heart. This was dragging its dead carcass off the road(from where it'd been flattened into a bloody pulp) and beating it some more.

Seeing my stricken look, Eriol said, "I'll be right back," and marched out the door. 

"Sakura, it isn't really Syaoran," Tomoyo said soothingly, patting my hand. "If he was normal, the only one he'd flirt with is _you."_

"Really?" I sniffed before what she had said truly sunk in. "You're not just saying that—TOMOYO!" Instantly, my sorrow turned into furious humiliation. "THAT IS **NOT** FUNNY! WE'RE FRIENDS! NOTHING MORE! **NOTHING!!!!**" I inhaled deeply, ready to continue bawling her out, but then I got a look around. 

Everyone in the diner was staring at me. Literally. The chef, in his grease-soaked apron, had come out and was staring at me too. 

[AN: I know, I know, this was in Monsters, Inc., but I couldn't resist!]

"UmWe're, uh, rehearsing for an extra-curricular play," I said weakly. "It'sa songIt goes, 'We're friends, nothing more, nothing,'" I sang, standing up and improvising a pathetic dance. "I'm—uh—always—uh—huffing and puffingCome on, Tomoyo, sing it with me!" I said brightly, grinning feebly. "You know it better than I do!"

She gave me this horrified look and I returned with an evil smile. "You owe me_ big_ time," she hissed, sliding out of the seats. And then she smiled wickedly, and my heart sank. "You know that's not true," she sang back, moving her feet slightly in a dance just as sad as mine. "He's everything to you, and you won't admit it in a million years that he's the one that you—"

"Umam I missing something?" Eriol asked slowly, standing at the door with Syaoran in tow. 

"You're just in time," Mr. Terada said cheerfully. "Tomoyo and Sakura are doing a scene from a play they're in. Go on, girls."

We exchanged nervous glances. "UmWhat do you know," I sang weakly, "how can talk? You're always really cold to the one you like a lot."

"I am not!"

"Then you like him a lot," I sang shortly. 

"I do not!"

"You think he's hot." I was actually starting to really enjoy this.

"No way!"

"If you don't tell him you'll pay."

"Uh-uh."

"You should say it today!"

"Keep dreaming."

"You're practically screaming—"

__

"What?!"

"For love." 

"Say it's me, my dove!" Syaoran threw himself at Tomoyo's feet. "Say I'm the one you think is hot, I'm the one you like a lot, I'm the one you should tell today, I'm the one who if you don't tell you'll pay—"

"I do not like them in a boat, I do not like them with a goat [AN: Actually, 'with a goat' sounds kinda wrong] I do not like them in a box, I do not like them with a fox," Eriol said dryly. "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I Am."

There was stunned silence, and then every person in the diner burst into applause. "Wow" a waitress sighed, wiping a tear from her eye with the corner of her apron. "Performance art—it always makes me tear up, ya know. Kinda like when Cookie burns the French Fries and the kitchen gets all filled with smoke."

"Yeah," another waitress said distantly. 

Eriol rolled his eyes and maneuvered Syaoran into the seat once more. 

____

I was starting to get a headache by the time we came to the worst possible place. 

Mr. Terada and Ms. Mizuki had decided that we would take a lunch break in a park, so we went to the nearest one. 

It didn't take long for Syaoran to spot the skate park. 

"DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!!!!"

"Syaoran—no!"

It was too late. He darted off to the course, his skateboard in hand. We watched sadly as he scrambled to the top, perched on the skateboard, pushed off, and fell flat on his face. After a minute, he got up and went back, tried it again, and once more did a spectacular fall. People nearby started betting on when he _wouldn't_ fall. 

"Did you know that skateboards were invented by the Greeks?"

__

Splash!

Chiharu dusted her hands off, ignoring Yamazaki's spluttering from the now-disrupted duck pond. 

"I'll be right back," I said wearily. Striding over, I came to a halt beside the ramp and looked up. "Syaoran, come down from there."

"No way!" He slid down the curve and fell once more. Seeing the skateboard roll away, inspiration struck. I quickly checked to make sure no one was watching and then fried the board before he looked up. 

Sniffling came from where Syaoran was sitting, his shoulders slumped. "M-my myMY SKATEBOARD IS GONE!" He burst into tears.

I instantly felt guilty, but reminded me it was for his own good. "Ummwell, maybe you should come have lunch, and then we'll look for it later." Real-Syaoran had a good memory—and morals—but Opposite-Syaoran didn't, so the chances were that he would forget all about it soon. 

____

"I just LOVE that COLOR on you, Eriol!!!"

Sadly, the speaker wasn't Tomoyo.

"Can—can you make him go away?" Eriol pleaded uncomfortably. 

It was the unfortunate truth. Because ofwell, because of Real-Syaoran's _preferences,_ Opposite-Syaoran was painfully and most decisively otherwise. 

To put it bluntly, he was gay. Well, technically, he was actually a bi, but the fact remained the same. His door swung both ways. He didn't _like_ girls. He was a Rainbow Child.' 

And he was saying kawaii' almost as much as Tomoyo normally would have, except this was not a very kawaii situation. 

__

Well, that means that he'll be straight when he's back to normal, I tried to reassure myself. _I wonder where that whole Yukito thing came from, thenprobably that people drawn to people with power' deal._

But if **that's** true, then why isn't he "drawn" to me?

Maybe he is, another voice in my head answered. _Maybe he is, and he just doesn't want to ruin a perfectly good friendship._

Ha, I wish.

Sighing, I took a big bite out of my apple and watched Eriol try to fend Syaoran off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

There she is. He stared at her through binoculars and watched grimly as the skateboard vanished in a burst of flame, lasting no longer than a second. "Did you see that?" he asked. 

"Yeah." His companion slowly lowered the binoculars, pale. "Soshe's the Antichrist?"

He pursed his lips. "I think it's worse. See the boy?" Fred pointed towards him.

Derek nodded. "Is he in this too?"

Fred took a deep breath. "I think he's Satan, and she's either a minion or his mistress."

"She seems to be his mistress," Derek said thoughtfully.

"That must be it. You can almost see the lust in her gaze," he said spitefully. 

"So what do we do?"

Derek met Fred's nervous gaze squarely. "What we must," he said firmly. "Our duty."

"Killthem?"

There was a silent nod.

Fred looked back at where Satan's lover was dragging him away. He blew out breath heavily, and then nodded back. "Let's do it."

____

"I managed to get a full-on picture of her," Derek explained, his fingers flying over the keyboard and striking keys like vultures seizing prey. "We can scan for a match in the school records in Japan—she spoke Japanese when I heard her. And we can check the middle and high schools." Numbers flashed across the screen and he entered several more, and a program came up. In a minute, he had managed to hack into the school systems in Japan. The picture slid through the scanner and her face appeared in the corner. School pictures flashed in a rectangle and girl after girl went past. 

An hour later, it came to a halt. "That's her," Fred said decisively. "Sakura Kinomoto." Derek clicked on the picture and information came up. 

__

Age: Fourteen

Height: 5' 5"

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Green

Blood Type: O

School: Tomoeda Junior High

Hometown: Tomoeda

"They must be on a field trip," Fred said slowly. 

"I'll check on that. Maybe I can get an itinerary." Derek hit more and more buttons and more and more information flashed over the screen, all focusing around two very specific people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I checked my watch. 10:43.

"I'm _tired,_" I yawned. "I want to go to bed."

"You can go to bed with me," Syaoran said hopefully. 

I turned a brilliant scarlet hue and chose to let Eriol reply to that. "I think she's going to wait on that," he said dryly. "At least, wait until she's older than eighteen and Touya can't slap you with Statutory. And use protection." 

"ERIOL!!!" I blushed even harder. "THAT IS **SO** NOT FUNNY!"

"Well, I didn't know you wanted children," he said with an innocent shrug. "Fine, then, don't consult Trojan Man."

I suddenly found myself understanding why Syaoran felt he was evil. 

When I had just come up with a response, the clock changed to 10:46. The pixie dropped down as Syaoran passed out and I caught him. We were waiting in the kitchen of our house on Balboa. 

Perplexed, the pixie looked around, frowning. Its eyes then landed on Eriol.

"No!" I launched forward, sick of the Card. "Return!" 

It pointed its wand one more time and a tiny jet of light hit him, and then it vanished into the Card. 

"Ummhi," Eriol said slowly. "Yeah, umhi."

I let out a long, long sigh. "Here we go"

"Ummyeah. Hi."

Ignoring Eriol's muttering, I went to where Syaoran was just sitting up. He took one look around and then turned a bright red. Rapid cursing in Mandarin filled the room and he ran a hand through his hair. _Yep, he's **definitely** back to normal._ "You okay?" I asked tentatively, knowing exactly how humiliating it had been when I remembered all I had done. Sure, beating up a member of a biker gang was technically worse than hitting on a crapload of girls—and guys, but I didn't want to think about that; it just meant he was really straight—but still, this was never really a good thing. 

After a few more expletives upon seeing me and getting what I wagered even more memories back, his weary response was, "Not really, but I'll survive."

I laughed weakly, trying to cheer him up. "You know the saying, _What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger._" 

"Yeah" He sighed heavily, then looked at Eriol, blushed some more, and asked, "What are going to do with _him?_"

"Hi. Um. Yeah. Um. Hi."

"Is that all he can say?" I wondered aloud. 

"Quite possibly."

"Am I missing something?" Tomoyo asked from the doorway. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Eriol scrambled back and flattened himself against the wall, wide-eyed with terror.

Outside, several car alarms went off, animals howled, people were throwing windows open and asking what the hell that had just been, sirens went off, and a last piece of glass fell from the shattered window.

"Well, at least we know he can say something else," Syaoran muttered.

I shook my head, trying to get the ringing out of my ears. "The Opposite got him," I said to Tomoyo.

"Oh," she said slowly. "But if he's scared of me in opposite mode, then that means in real life" Her eyes widened, and she blushed a bright red. 

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Took her long enough," I sighed. "Even _I_ could tell."

"I want to see how _he_ reacts to this," Syaoran said with a jerk of his head towards Eriol. 

"Um"

"Sakura, could you—could you—could you come with me?" Tomoyo stammered, now deathly pale. 

I could sympathize with her. "I think I'm going to head out," I said dryly, walking over to the nearly swooning Tomoyo. "Don't kill him, Syaoran."

"I won't," he said tonelessly. 

"I mean it. I don't want to get in trouble." 

"I take full responsibility," he said innocently as the door swung shut. 

Immediately, Tomoyo started hyperventilating. "What if he _does_ hurt him? What if he needs me? What if—"

__

"Tomorrow, Tomoyo," I said firmly. "You can get all your hormones out then."

She blushed furiously. [AN: I just noticed there's a crapload of blushing in this chapter. Huh.] _"Sakura"_

I snorted. "Oh, so now that it's _you_ who's being stuck with the guy you like three million times, there's a _problem,_ huh? You know, maybe I can get you in a closet with him"

__

"SAKURA!!!" she moaned, covering her face with her hands. "This _isn't_ funny!"

"Au contraire," I retorted wickedly. "I find it very funny."

"I think I'm going to go hide in my room now," she said miserably. "I've had enough fun for today."

"I know the feeling," I sighed. "Believe me, I know the feeling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so not my best, not my worst, but all in all, your average chapter. Nextnext is::thinks:: next isOH YEAH!!! Oh, I can't tell you which one it is, thoughthis is going to be a very funny chapter, I thinkof course, I thought that this was going to be funny too, butwell, anyways, Adiosity until later!


	6. Sakura Tells It Like It Is

Vacation!

Chapter Six: Sakura Tells It Like It Is

Hoo whee! You guys _really_ liked it! Last time I checked, I had eighty-six reviews! Wow! DAMN! You guys kick ASS!!!!

Now, ready for the next chapter? I know I used something in here already, but it's _so_ much fun to use, because it makes everyone blush like hellOh, and for Destiny-chan: There will be DEFINITE E+T in this chapter. ) You think I'm mean as an S+S writer, just wait till I hit the E+T

Nihil est! In vita priore ego imperator Romanus fui!

Oh yeah—and, taking into the consideration of one of my reviews, I will be naming the person from whose POV it is being told from at the beginning of the section! _Andiamo!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

I stared at the ceiling, exhausted. All was quiet in the house; all was calm and still. Not a sound could be heard–Eriol had done a muffling spell to keep the noises outside from reaching our ears. 

Sighing, I rolled over and white wall met my eyes. The shadows quickly shifted into the mental image of a face, and I blushed, trying to not think of him. Of course, it wasn't really an option. My mind had the sad tendency to focus on him, no matter what, and I couldn't really help it. 

I cast my mind around, searching for something–_anything_–else to think about.

__

I wonder what will happen with the other Cards?

Well, which ones are left? _Inner Monologue and Repeat, right?_

I wonder where they are

Blinking, I jammed the pillow over my head and tried to fall asleep. 

This so could not be happening.

I felt my stomach knot, and knew I couldn't hold out if what Mr. Terada had planned was going to really happen.

He wanted to take us to the beach, on the mainland. Not one of the crowded ones, either–it was one Ms. Mizuki knew about, that had lots of seashells, and the surf wasn't too strong, so none of us would be drowning or anything. But we were going to the beach. 

The _beach._

Syaoran was good at swimming; he hadn't stayed out of the water last time we'd gone to the beach on a field trip.

And so, coincidentally, he would have his shirt off. 

No, there was definitely no way I would survive something of that–well, magnitude. 

Nevertheless, it seemed he was fully determinate on getting _us_ to the beach. And, for once, it wasn't with any assistance' from Eriol. Of course, that could have been partially due to the fact that he was still screaming in terror at the sight of Tomoyo and saying only "Um, yeah, hi." It wasn't helping that Tomoyo was still freaking over whether he'd still like her in _that_ way when he returned to normal. I'd had to sit her down and practically force-feed her Retalin before she'd relax. I felt like taking a few myself as we walked back to the house. In about half an hour, we had to be ready to head over to the beach. 

I tramped up the steps and wearily opened the door, then jumped and kept myself from cursing with difficulty.

"Sakura!" Nakuru looked up from her magazines–they were stacked around her in piles tall enough to form a veritable bomb shelter–and smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Ummit's where I live" I said slowly, still surprised. Suppi twitched his tail from where he was flopped on the couch–in his true form.

"What is–" Syaoran broke off the minute he saw them. 

"We brought a guest with us!" she said brightly. 

__

It gets even better, doesn't it? "Who?" I asked wearily. 

There were muffled thumps and yells from the kitchen, and then Touya hopped into the room, still gagged and bound to a chair. He had had to scoot the chair along. 

__

"Touya?!"

He took one look at the group behind me–which included Syaoran–and turned an unusual shade of purple. Suddenly, I was glad he was gagged, because I had a good guess at what he was trying to communicate and it wasn't pretty. 

"You want to say something?" Nakuru asked him innocently. "Here you go."

"No–don't–!"

It was too late. The gag was off.

"WHAT THE **HELL** ARE YOU DOING SHARING A HOUSE WITH **HIM? **AND _THEM!_ ARE YOU **INSANE???** WHAT IF THEY DRUGGED YOU, HUH???" His eyes landed on the doors and I remembered too late that, to him, the interior looked like it had before—like there were only two rooms. "YOU—YOU—YOU'RE SHARING **ROOMS???" **He was unable to speak, only moving his mouth with no sounds coming out, as if he couldn't think of anything obscene enough to say. 

I rubbed my forehead. "Eriol?"

He blinked. "Um. Yeah. Hi." 

"Just–just snap your fingers, okay?" I asked tiredly. 

"Um. Yeah." He made a weak motion, as if the concept of snapping was beyond him, and the room flickered. "Hi." Touya could see it as it really was now.

"Oh." Touya relaxed, then went red again. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHARING AN APARTMENT??? IS THERE A CHAPERONE??? WHAT ON **EARTH** MADE YOU THINK YOU WERE ANYWHERE **NEAR** SAFE???"

"The fact that they're my friends," I dryly informed him. 

"Um. Yeah. Hi." Eriol blinked sleepily, a strange smile on his face.

"What about _him?_" Touya demanded. "If _anyone's_ drugged, it's him! What did you do, force pot down his throat?"

"Nakuru, could you put the gag back on him, please?" I asked. She happily complied. 

"Now," I said cautiously, after everything had been explained to him, "if I untie you, will you behave?"

He nodded, and I pulled the gag off. His wary eyes followed me as I went around to the back of the chair and untied first his hands, then his feet. Getting up, I watched him nervously.

Touya sat there for a minute with the strangest expression on his face, unmoving. I hardly dared to breathe.

Then he lunged at Syaoran. I stuck a foot out and tripped him, and he fell flat on his face. With a twist of power, I locked him to the floor. 

"You don't want to do that," I said tonelessly, very happy that I didn't have to hide my magic from him anymore.

He muttered something unpleasant under his breath, and I tightened the constraints. His face was squashed into the floor a little more. 

"Touya, I want a _truce._ And you're not getting up until you agree."

He shot my the darkest look I'd ever seen. "You know, this really isn't fair," he grumbled. "Here I am, giving up all my magic so you can stop falling asleep–"

"And so Yukito will stick around," Nakuru interrupted.

"–and you shove me on the floor. Not a very nice way to repay me, that's what I think."

I crossed my arms. "Do you agree to the truce?"

"Actually, Sakura, if you could just leave him stuck on the ground, that'd be just great," commented Nakuru. 

I don't think it was being flattened that pushed him over the edge. Nor do I think it was the notion of being frozen there until I decided he could go away. No, I think it was what would happen–more accurately, what Nakuru would do–if I left him there that finally made him decide.

I'd never seen a person turn so white so fast. In fact, I'd also never seen someone's eyes get that big or that horror-filled. "Truce! Truce! Truce! For the _love_ of God, TRUCE!"

"Sorry, Nakuru." I shrugged and let him up. "Don't do anything you'll regret, Touya. I'm watching."

"Um. Yeah. Hi."

"What's the deal with Master Eriol?" Suppi asked, his tone dry. "You didn't _really_ use drugs, did you?"

"Of course not!" Tomoyo sniffed. "He was attacked by the Opposite Card."

There was a flash as the kitchen clock turned to 10:46. When my eyes cleared of the spots, I could see Eriol sitting at the table, shaking his head confusedly. "What–" He broke off as I realized that because the Card was sealed, it had only lasted twelve hours instead of twenty-four. "Well, it could have been worse," he said slowly.

Tomoyo let out a strange-sounding squeak and fled the room, blushing. Syaoran and I exchanged smug glances, and a voice in my head whispered, "Payback time"

Suddenly, I realized I had three minutes to get changed before we had to go. "I'll be right back," I said hastily.

"Wait–where are you going?" Touya demanded in a desperate attempt to keep me from leaving him alone with Nakuru.

"I've got to change," I told him.

"For what?"

"The beach." I ducked into my room and closed the door behind me.

"THE _BEACH????"_

I couldn't help it. I was infuriated, hurt, and incredibly pissed off. 

"When are they going away?" I asked Eriol crossly. 

"As soon as I can manage," he muttered as we watched Touya try to ward Nakuru off with two sticks held up in the sign of the cross. It failed, however, and in a few seconds she was chasing him around the beach.

Touya had decided that I was not to be trusted at the beach, and so he had come with me, posing as another tourist. And there was no way we were going to leave Nakuru and Suppi alone in the house—only God knew what would be left of it when we came back if we had—so they, too, had accompanied us. 

And the worst part was that Nakuru had a camera. 

Wait, no. That wasn't the worst part. 

The worst part was that I was wearing a tankini in front of Syaoran. Sure, most of my stomach was covered. Sure, it had shorts. 

But the fact remained: I was wearing a bathing suit. _Way_ too much of me was showing for me to be anything close to comfortable. 

And it wasn't fair. Tomoyo looked great in her bathing suit, and I could practically see the drool roll off Eriol's tongue when she walked past. And then, she'd had the wrap-around skirt-thing over it, so he hadn't seen _nothing_ yet. 

I let out a long sigh, and then Syaoran walked by.

Shirtless.

"You're going to want to close your mouth," Eriol advised. "There's a lot of seagulls around here."

__

"EWWW!!!!" I snapped it shut, grossed out, and blushed. "That's _disgusting!_"

"It's the truth," he said with a shrug. 

And then Tomoyo walked past, _without_ the wrap-around skirt. I smugly watched as Eriol's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Thank" he said breathlessly, then fell silent, mouth still wide open. 

I cracked up and slugged him on the shoulder. "You're going to want to close your mouth, country boy," I taunted. "There's a lot of seagulls around here."

He shook his head as though to clear it, rubbing his eyes. "Please tell me this isn't a dream."

"This isn't a dream." He still didn't move, looking as though he'd seen a glimpse of heaven, and I rolled my eyes. 

"I'm going swimming," I informed him. "If you can figure out a way to _not_ pass out the next time she comes within ten feet of you, feel free to join me. Otherwise, don't, cuz I am _not_ giving you mouth-to-mouth." Dropping my bag in the sand, I kicked my flip-flops off and strode down to shore. 

The surf was fairly warm and frothy, and I plunged in, wading first up to my knees, then to my shoulders. Dunking my head, I came back to the surface and gulped in a lung-full of air, then floated on my back and stared at the blue sky. 

A wave hit me, tossing me on my side, and I accidentally inhaled a mouthful of salty water. Standing up, I hacked out every bit, trying not to laugh at what an ass I'd made out of myself. "I think I'm going to have to be a little more careful," I thought aloud. Sighing, I dove back in and this time swam out a little further. The underwater plants waved at me, and small fish darted in and out. I kicked my legs, propelling myself downward, and my fingers brushed the sand. A tiny bit of color showed, and I waved more of the sand away to find something dark and brown. Running a hand over it, I found it was a small, decaying wooden chest. There had once been intricate inlay on the lid, and remnants of it glinted in the green-blue light as I tugged the box free of its sandy embedding. _I wonder what's inside_

"I wonder what's inside," I said out loud, despite the fact that I was underwater. _Whoa, I'm thinking out loud a lot._ "Whoa, I'm thinking out loud a lot." 

I broke the surface and breathed in, then swam back to shore. Eriol was gone—presumably stalking Tomoyo somewhere—so I fished a towel out of my bag, spread it out on the sand, and sat down on it, examining the small chest. 

It was about eight inches long, four inches high, and six inches wide. The lock on the front was rusting away, and I was able to break it off with a rock. The ancient hinges creaked as I gently pried the lid up, at the same time finding how old it was with my magic. The answer came up as around eighty-five years old, and I wondered what on earth could have brought it here. 

The inside had somehow stayed dry. Rich, midnight-blue velvet cushioned the sides, but nothing seemed to be inside. I ran a damp hand over it as a musty smell floated up from its interior, and something gave. Tugging at the material, I uncovered a small latch and flipped it up. It opened to reveal a long, shallow compartment, hidden under the fabric. 

A piece of parchment was tucked inside, weighed down by a leather pouch. I unfolded the parchment and did a quick illusion spell that translated the words into Japanese for me. 

__

April 1st, 1914

My dear Isabelle,

I do not know when this may reach you. I fear it might never, for we are caught in a fearsome storm and we may not survive. If this does come to you someday, I want to tell you that I love you. The necklace is all I have to give you, with the promise that no matter what happens, I will love you forever. I was on my way home with every intention of proposing you the very day of my arrival, but nowit seems that it may not come to pass. The best times of my life were when I were with you, my darling, and I would give anything just to be with you now

With all my heart,

Jimmy

Something told me that Jimmy hadn't made it. I swallowed, reliving how his last moments must have been—the wind whipping rain into his face, the ocean roaring, cold and wild, beneath him, lightning flickering eerily over the dark, stormy sky. And Isabelle, left to wait for her beloved until she died, never knowing what could have truly happened. 

My eyes stung as the tragedy of the story sank in. Setting the parchment back in the compartment, I gently picked up the leather bag. Another piece of parchment crackled inside, and I pulled it out. It read, _For Isabelle Thenington'_. 

Something heavy was inside. I carefully upturned the bag, and out fell a piece of jewelry. 

It was a necklace—a small heart on a silver chain. The heart was of some kind of clear crystal, the size of my thumbnail. It was set in a small circle of green stones that I recognized as emeralds. The emeralds alone were worth a small fortune.

__

I have to get this back to her

"I have to get this back to her" 

Frowning, I looked down, trying to concentrate. "Why am I thinking out loud so much all of a sudden? What's going on? Is something—" I broke off, realizing that I was thinking aloud again. "What the hell is going on?" 

Looking up, I saw Syaoran about fifty feet off. "Oh, boynow _that_ is a slice of man-cake." Immediately, I slapped a hand over my mouth, appalled. "Did I just _say_ that?!" 

Touya ran past, yelling at the top of his lungs, and Nakuru kicked up sand in her hot pursuit. "It's a good thing we didn't leave them back at the house," I said aloud, "or she would have figured out some other way to get him stuck to the floor. _Oh my god_I can't shut up" I ran a hand through my hair, now starting to get really distressed. The box and what-not lay in the sand, forgotten. "I—I'm going to swim. Yeah, swim. Maybe this'll wear off. This must look really strange. Why am I talking to myself? _What the hell is going on?_" 

It hit me: I was saying whatever came to mind. "Then I won't think of anything," I said decisively. A shock of brown hair caught my eye; it was Syaoran again, still thankfully far away. "Mmm-mm! _Damn_ he is hot!" This time, I not only covered my mouth in horror, but turned a lovely crimson-scarlet as well, making me look as if I had a horrid sunburn. "Think of something else," I instructed myself, glad no one else was nearby. "Anything else, besides how _damn_ fine he is. OH MY GOD, I _really_ have got to stop talking out loud." I determinedly stalked into the water, forcing myself into the waves. Soon, I was up to my shoulders once more, and I stared at the sky. "What is going on? What's wrong with me?" The blue expanse overhead offered no answers. 

A sudden wave caught me off guard and washed over my head. Startled, I opened my mouth to yell and seawater rushed in, choking the cry off. Gagging, I tried to cough, but I was still underwater and only inhaled more water. I forced myself to the surface and inhaled, then was dragged under once more. _OMIGOD SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!_ my mind shrieked hysterically. The tow pulled me under and slammed me into the sand on the bottom, and I winced as it grated against my skin. Kicking frantically, I tried to get out of the tow, realizing what had caught me—a riptide. If something didn't happen soon, I was going to be swept out to sea. 

Then my head broke the surface again, and I drank in air, letting out a yell before the tide sucked me under once more. I was pulled along the bottom, and this time, broken fragments of shells and small rocks did more than just grate against my skin. A jagged piece of coral scraped along my arm, opening a shallow gash that dyed the water scarlet and burned like fire from the salt in the water. 

The seconds ticked past as I tried desperately to get to the surface, but it was like fighting a hurricane. My oxygen was running out swiftly, along with my strength, and the blue-green light started fading. I couldn't go much longer without breathing, but I couldn't breathe in the water or I'd drown. 

Dizziness overwhelmed me, and somehow instinct took over, forcing my mouth to open and inhale. The salty water flooded in, dripping down my lungs, and I choked and coughed, but it was too late. I passed out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Syaoran

__

"Sakura?!"

I straightened as the mental cry faded, then sent my sixth sense out in a broad sweep of the area around me. If something was wrong, I'd know.

The sweep stopped as it caught' on something: Sakura. She was rapidly getting farther and farther away from the shore, and fear was swirling around her like a tornado. It only meant one thing: she was in a riptide. 

I pushed off from the sand and swam as fast as I could, but the distance between us was closing so slowly it seemed I could have stood still and had better luck. 

My head broke the surface as shrieking came from the beach. Apparently, someone not only had figured out that Sakura was _drowning,_ but was making it abundantly clear to everyone else.

**__**

Syaoran! Eriol's voice echoed in my mind. **_What the hell is going on?_**

Sakura's in a riptide, I replied grimly, not pausing. **_Get help._**

I'm going to get her closer to you. There was a flare of power and the tiny figure in the distance started moving towards me. **_The minute you've got her, let me know._**

I still swam faster than ever, trying to get to her as fast as I could. The seconds inched past, and each one meant Sakura was closer to dying than before. 

After an eternity, she was no more than fifteen feet away. I closed the distance between us, only to find her pale, motionless—and not breathing. 

**__**

Eriol! Get us back to shore now!

I threw an arm around her waist and looked back to shore; it was at least a hundred yards away. Taking a deep breath, I set off. 

Sakura didn't move at all, and fear sent chills through me. What if she died? What if I'd been too late? What then? 

Magic snapped around us, giving me a little more energy—my arms had been ready to give out a _long_ time ago—and pulling us through the water faster. The time it took to return, however, was still agonizingly long. My world shrank to keeping a tight hold on Sakura and getting to shore—nothing more, nothing less. 

Suddenly, my knees hit sand. I staggered to my feet and picked Sakura up, carrying her out of the sea. Seaweed slid out of dripping hair, another dark green strand wound around her ankle. 

[AN: I know, I used this in A Camp Adventure Gone Wrong, but I thought I could've written it a little better, so I'm using it here too ^_~]

Time was of the essence now. Life and death was no more than a matter of seconds; one hesitation could have a price higher than any imaginable, and it was a price I was not willing to pay, ever. The sand grated under my knees as I dropped, knowing what had to happen if Sakura was going to survive. It was too late for CPR—there was one option left, one that I didn't favor so much, but I wasn't going to let her die. 

And still, I could have sworn I was as red as if I had the worst sunburn in the history of man. Taking a deep breath, I cradled her head in my hands and covered her mouth with mine, exhaling. Heat flooded my face, but my mind kept reminding me that if I wasn't doing this, she could die. Of course, there was always that one part that piped in, saying that she might die anyway and I would have just made an ass out of myself for no reason in particular. And then there was that corner of my mind that was yelling at the top of its lungs that I was kissing Sakura and therefore essentially fulfilling my entire purpose in life. 

"HEY!!!"

Sakura still didn't move in my arms as I watched her anxiously, ignoring Touya, who was being restrained by both Eriol and Nakuru, although Nakuru was really just latching on to his arm. There was a tense pause, and then she stirred feebly, then started coughing and sat up. 

Applause came from all around, and I looked up to find a crowd surrounding us. "That was just like _Baywatch,_" one girl said fervently, crossing herself. _"Wow"_

"Someone get them a contract," added another bystander. 

Blatantly ignoring them, I turned back to Sakura, who was sitting up. "Are you okay?"

She shivered slightly. "Yeah." 

Tomoyo pushed her way through the wall of people and draped a towel around her shoulders, Eriol on her heels. "Anything broken?" she asked briskly. 

Sakura shook her head, sending droplets of water flying everywhere. "I'm good." Blinking sleepily, she added, "I kinda wanna go to sleep" 

"That's okay, Mr. Terada wanted us to spend the whole day here, so you can take a nap," Tomoyo said calmly. "Come on, Sakura—help me out here, will you?" 

The last comment was directed at me. I nodded and helped Sakura to her feet, and Tomoyo steered her away. The crowd parted for us, and I followed. 

And then a strange thing happened. 

Halfway to where an umbrella was set up and multiple cameras were perched, something landed in the sand nearby. It had just fallen out of nowhere. 

Frowning, I stopped and looked at it just as something else hit the back of my head. Another thing and another plummeted from an empty sky, and in a second it was raining Fettuccine Alfredo. 

The downpour was over in about ten seconds. Straightening, I shook the cheesy noodles off and stared around, bewildered. A five-inch-thick layer of pasta covered _everything._ A pile slowly dropped off the umbrella, and more squelched under the feet of people now walking around, just as confused as I was. 

__

What the **hell** was that?! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura 

I looked around at the noodle snowfall. Trying to think about what had just happened was hurting my head, so I just frowned sadly and stared at the ground. "What's happening?" I thought aloud. "Oh dear, I'm still thinking out loud again"

Tomoyo and Eriol exchanged glances, both of them blushing at each other. "Sh-she's still woozy," she stammered. 

"Yeah," he agreed hastily. 

"I'm not woozyI want to go to sleep" I stumbled. "When can I go to sleep?" 

As we watched, the noodles vanished and people stared blankly around, searching for pasta. 

"Well, that's interesting," Tomoyo said calmly, as though a truckload of pasta had not just been spread liberally around the beach within ten seconds and then vanished. "I wonder what that's all about." 

"Towel. I want to find a towel and sleep now." I could hardly keep my eyes open. Far off, I saw Nakuru happily burying a thrashing Touya in the sand. "Oh, now that must be fun."

And then my knees gave out. I fell forward, and something caught me gently as I blacked out. 

When I woke up, it was about two o'clock. Sitting up, I found that not only was I completely dry now but I had, in the sleeping process, acquired a _very_ nice tan. "Score, me!"

And I also found that I was still saying whatever came to mind. 

I looked around and saw Tomoyo reading a book in the shade. "Hey, Tomoyo. I wonder how I'm going to tell her that I'm thinking out loudoh, damn!" 

__

"What?"

"I don't know why, but whatever I'm thinking just gets blurted out! It _sucks!_ Where's Syaoran?" 

She coughed, startled, then grinned. "Wow, you really do think about him a lot."

"Of course I do! If you weren't obsessed with Eriol, you'd be all over _him_ too! For the love of God, woman, you don't get a guy much hotter than _that _chunk of manhood at its best!" I blushed from head to toe and covered my mouth, which consequently got sand in my teeth. "Damn! This stuff tastes like crap!"

Tomoyo started giggling. "Didn't it occur to you that this is probably a Card?" 

"No, honestly, it didn't, but—OMIGOD HOT GUY! HOT GUY! HOT GUY! Oh my dear Lord, I am _really_ making an ass out of myself" I had just spotted Syaoran again, although fortunately he was too far away to hear anything I was saying. "Tomoyo, do we have _anything_ I could use as a gag? _Anything?_" 

"Let me check." She picked up her bag and was just rummaging through it when a shadow fell across me and I looked up. "Oh, hey Eriol." 

Tomoyo glanced up and blushed, looking determinedly back down at the bag as he said casually, "Hey, Sakura. Hey, Tomoyo."

She mumbled something, and I turned to face him. "I'm currently saying whatever comes into my mind, and Tomoyo thinks it's a Card. She's also infatuated with you, just so you know, and considering the fact that you like her and she likes you, I think you two should hook up," I informed him matter-of-factly before realizing what I'd just said. "Oh—oh my gosh—I—"

Tomoyo had gone paler than usual, as had Eriol, and neither was looking at each other. Rubbing my forehead wearily, I said, "I'm going to go somewhere else before I blurt out anyone else's deep, dark secrets, okay? You two can talk this over. Keep her clean, Eriol. Oh _crap,_ I did _not_ mean that!"

He gave me a look full of part-irritation, part-humiliation, part-surprised happiness, part-gratitude, and part-admiration. "I never knew you had such a dirty mind, Sakura. What are you thoughts on my little ancestor?"

"Syaoran? I think he should definitely walk around shirtless one hell of a lot more often, that if he gets any hotter I'm going to have to start wearing sunscreen around him, and that if Mei Ling was willing to give him up so easily, she really has no taste in men. See, now, I'm going to leave so Tomoyo can bang the bijeebus out of you. Oh dear _god,_ I did _not_ just say that." I stood, picked up my towel, and marched away, still muttering to myself. "What Card is this? The only ones left are Inner Monologue and Repeat, so it's gotta be the Inner Monologue—but when did it get me? And why am I not sensing it? But if I talk to Syaoran on this, I don't even want to think about what'll happen, because I'll say what I think and whatever I think I'll say and god knows what I think around himOh, dammit, I am _so_ screwed!" 

I dropped the towel and sat down on it with a thump, then leaned back with a sigh. Maybe if I tried to not think of anything, I wouldn't talk at allI stared at the sky, trying to keep my mind clear long enough for me to fall asleep again; I was still fairly tired. "Wowthe sky's so _blue_ No! no thinking!" Biting my lip, I closed my eyes. 

And something small and sticky landed in the center of my forehead. 

"What the _hell?!"_

I sat bolt upright. "What the _hell_ was _that?_" A noodle fell off my forehead, and it was all the warning I got before another crapload of Fettuccine Alfredo was dumped on us. 

"This is beyond weird" I mused, shaking pasta out of my hair. "Pasta rain, I can't shut up, Touya's here, Nakuru's here, Tomoyo likes Eriol, I nearly drowned I don't get it" After a few seconds, the noodles all vanished once more. 

An old woman walked past, waving her gnarled cane and moaning, "A cursea _curse_" 

"RightI thought they put people like that in nuthousesI guess notwow, I really _can't_ shut up. I'm going to sleep now." I laid back down on my stomach and shut my eyes, muttering to myself. Eventually, I drifted in to sleep, assuming I wouldn't be shooting my mouth off while unconscious—particularly if Kero _hadn't_ been lying about what I said when I was asleep, then I was in one crapload of trouble. 

At first, I wasn't sure what had woken me up. "What the hell"

Something poked me in the shoulder again. "Do y'think she's _dead?"_ a little boy whispered reverently. 

"Maybe" 

"Poke her again!"

Extremely grouchy, I seized the stick the minute it touched my shoulder and snapped it with one hand, not even looking up from where I rested my head on my arm. "Do that again, and this'll be your puny little dick, capieche?"

There was the thumping of more-than-hasty retreats, and I sat up with a smug smile before remembering I was still speaking my mind. "That's _right,_ I'm thinking out loud cuz of the Inner Monologue Card, aren't I? DamnOh, I wonder how Eriol and Tomoyo are doing?" Glancing over at them, I saw an interesting sight: they were making out. "How surprising. Oh, now that is just nasty. _Whoa,_ I did _not_ want to see that! They _really_ need to get a room! WHOA! OKAY, _SHE_ IS ONLY FOURTEEN! THAT IS _SO_ NOT RIGHT!" 

"That's just _gross,_" Chiharu said disgustedly from behind me. "_Whoa,_ is that his _tongue?!_"

__

"Ew!" Rika covered her eyes. "Who does he think he is, Austin Powers?" 

"Did you know that Austin Powers was based on a true story?" 

Chiharu picked him up and threw him into the ocean, then dusted her hands off and turned around, her eyes landing on Tomoyo and Eriol. "OH, NASTY!"

"This is almost as good as HBO," some boy said behind us. "Or the Discovery Channel."

"Ain't nothing but mammals," quipped a friend of his. "This is even better. Whoa, _where _is her hand going?"

"Is that her hand? I thought it was his."

"Could be."

"Sonomi would kill her," I muttered. "She's lucky we aren't taping this—_wait a second" _

Standing up, I silently treaded over the sandy expanse to where they were making out and picked out a camera. They didn't even notice my presence. Stifling giggles and trying not to think, I switched the camera on and positioned it in just the right place.

"Let's see how you like it," I whispered, sneaking away. 

Eventually, they stopped sucking face and Tomoyo somehow noticed the camera. She looked over at the crowd of around fifty (including Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, Yamazaki, and I) and blushed, scowling. I grinned and waved. "Eriol, I thought I said to keep her clean!"

He fumbled for his glasses and managed to shove them back on his face, and to my surprise I actually saw him blush. "Sh-sh-sh—there's nothing wrong!" he stammered. "What are you looking at?"

"You ramming your tongue down Tomoyo's throat," I retorted. 

"Charming," Chiharu added. "Next time, preserve my virgin eyes and get a room."

"And when we get back to the house you are _not_ sharing a room," I informed him dryly. "I don't even want to _think_ about what would happen." Getting up, I dusted sand off my legs and walked away, still muttering to myself. "I really need to get this Card taken care of. I swear, if I can't get it out of me I'm going to have to use the Silence Card on myself." My eyelids drooped—I was tired, but why? The only time I'd been this exhausted was when Yue was draining my magic to survive

"That's _it!_" I stopped dead. "It's using _my_ power to make me say whatever comes to mind, so that's why I didn't sense it! And that's why I'm so tired! So the Card's in meand I've got to get it out somehowbut where can I not be seen?"

I turned around and searched for somewhere I could go, scanning the surroundings. The ocean caught my eye, and yet again I wondered how I'd gotten out of there. After I'd passed out, the next thing I knew was trying to inhale and water clogging my lungs. Right before then, though, it was almost as if something had been pressed against my lips, and it had felt oddly nice. 

I shook myself out of reverie, and unfortunately, my eyes landed on Syaoran the same exact time as a group of young children were walking past.

"My _god,_ what a hot ass"

"Excuse me?" The woman in charge straightened, spluttering, her many chins wobbling in outrage. Her face turned an odd shade of reddish-purple. _"What_ did you say, madam?"

"UhLook at that—long—uh—grass!" I stammered. "Yeah, look at that long grass! That's what I said! I'm from another country—the grass isn't that long there—I've never seen grass that—uh—long"

I trailed off as she sniffed, then thrust her nose in the air and led her flock' of children on. Spotting a secluded place in the cliff, I darted to it and tried to think of how to get the Card out of me. "It's drawing on my powerwhat about the Move Card? It'd work, wouldn't it?" I backed further away from regular sight and pulled out the Key of Star, released it, and summoned the Move. "Move Card! Transport the Inner Monologue Card out of me and to the beach!"

There was a flash, and the spirit shot into my chest. I clenched my teeth and fell to my knees, trying to ignore the pain, and a minute later Move returned with the spirit of the Inner Monologue. 

"Inner Monologue" I held up the wand, and it disappeared into a Card, then floated into my hands. _I might as well change itSyaoran and Eriol couldn't have missed that, they can find me if I pass out_ _Hey, I'm not thinking out loud! YES!_ I threw the Card into the air and changed it with difficulty, then caught the Card and put a hand on the ground to steady myself. It didn't help. The rocks swirled in my vision, sand blending with cliff, and I swayed. _Maybeif I stand_ I awkwardly got to my feet and swayed for a second before my knees gave out. 

"Sakura!" 

I was caught before I hit my head on the rocks, but I couldn't see who it was because I passed out. 

When I woke up, I was back in my bed at the house. I didn't know what it was that woke me up.

__

Crash!

WHAM!

And then I did.

"TOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUYYAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Nakuru's voice echoed in the house. "YOU'RE SO **HOT!!!!"**

"GET **_OFF_** ME!!!"

There was another crash, and the sound of breaking glass, and I flinched, sitting up. _Eriol must be having kittenshe likes this house more than any of us_

I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress and stood unsteadily; my power was still fairly low. Taking a deep breath, I got dressed and ran a brush through my hair, than took a deep breath and walked outside. 

Eriol and Tomoyo were making out–no surprise–on the couch, while Syaoran came in from the kitchen, popping a Tylenol. Nakuru was chasing Touya around the room, sending vases and clocks–in fact, anything that wasn't bolted down–crashing to the floor. Suppi was busy shredding the oriental rug hanging on the wall; the curtains were already in tatters. An empty coffee pot was on the floor, tipped on its side. The TV was on for no particular reason.

"Where's the Advil?" I yelled to Syaoran.

"We're out, but there's Tylenol in the bathroom!" he shouted back. 

I headed to the bathroom, feeling a headache already start to build. A trail of empty Tylenol and Advil bottles showed that someone had already stockpiled, and wisely. 

I pushed the door open, and found about fifty empty bottles crammed into the trash can. The medicine cabinet was wide open, and I found the Tylenol with little difficulty. Filling a glass with water, I swallowed two, then replaced the cap, returned the bottle, and shut the cabinet door. 

And I jumped, startled. My face paled as I let out a shriek, and I ran out of the bathroom as fast as I could, fear sending chills down my spine. This could _not_ be happening. 

"Sakura!" Syaoran caught my wrist before I ran and hid in my room. "What's wrong?"

I couldn't even talk, I was so scared. The chaos stilled as I shook with sobs of terror. 

Syaoran strode down the hall, returning a moment later, his face white. I knew what he'd seen.

Someone had written on the mirror–in blood, or something like enough to it. 

__

DIE, SAKURA. WE'RE WATCHING YOU.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmmm.maybe I _can_ kill someone off in this story after all Sumimasen for the delays, everybody, I was experiencing technical difficultiesMore to come, I promise you that!


	7. Deja Vu Gone Too Far

Vacation!

Chapter Seven: Déjà Vu Gone Too Far

Mwahahahaha!!! I'm oh-so-evil! And it's so much fun

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

I couldn't even talk, I was so scared. The chaos stilled as I shook with sobs of terror. 

Syaoran strode down the hall, returning a moment later, his face white. I knew what he'd seen.

Someone had written on the mirror–in blood, or something like enough to it. 

****

DIE, SAKURA. WE'RE WATCHING YOU.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

My heart was still pounding and the tears still rolling down my face as Syaoran paced around the kitchen, muttering things I didn't even want to think about in Mandarin. What did they want with me? Who was it? What if they tried to kill me? What was I going to do?

"You need to eat something," Tomoyo pleaded. "Have a muffin, Sakura."

I shook my head, not even speaking. And then my voice started to work again, and I said bitterly, "Why should I eat? I'm going to die anyway." I could only stare at the ground in front of me, unable to believe this was really happening to me.

Something moved into my vision. Syaoran knelt in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. "You aren't going to die," he said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "They aren't going to get anywhere _near_ you." He lowered his voice a little. "I won't let them."

__

Oh my god, that has got to be the sweetest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Speechless, I nodded, trying to get at least a little composure back. 

He pulled out a handkerchief and gently brushed my tears away, then handed it to me and stood up. "Don't worry, Sakura." [AN: AwHow kawaii]

I swallowed, my mind turning what he had just said over and over. _He won't let them? Does that mean he's worried about me?_

Well, of course he's worried! We're friends!

Only friends

Something hit me in the back, and I gasped. There was a flare of magic. It all faded as I slumped forward, but something caught me.

__

"Sakura!"

The shout echoed weirdly in my ears, and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was in my room. Sitting up, I blinked confusedly. _What a weird dreamWas I really in California?_

It must have been a dream

"Sakura!" Kero popped in my face. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes! You've got fifteen minutes to get to school!"

__

"Hoe!" I shot out of bed, getting dressed as fast as I could and throwing myself down the stairs. 

Dad handed me a piece of toast, and I crammed it in my mouth. "Thanks!" Pulling on my roller blades, I dashed down the sidewalk, eventually catching up with Touya. "Why didn't you wait for me?" I demanded.

"You were sleeping," he said dryly. "Hey, Yukito."

Yukito waved and fell in place with us. "Morning!"

"Morning," I said calmly. _Boy, I can't believe I thought I had a crush on him._

Touya glanced back at me, seemingly surprised, then returned his gaze to the front of the bicycle. 

I left them at the turn and hurtled down the pavement, getting to class just in time. "Hey, Sakura!" Tomoyo waved as I sat down wearily.

"Hey, Tomoyo." Resting my forehead on the desk, I asked, "Where's Syaoran? He's usually on time."

"Who?" Her voice was questioning.

__

Oh, she must not have heard me. "Syaoran."

There was a pause, and I raised my head only to find her staring at me. "Sakura," she said finally, "are you feeling okay?"

"Um" I answered slowly. "Why?"

"There's no one named Syaoran in this class."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Syaoran

__

"Sakura!" I caught her as she collapsed. 

"What happened?" Tomoyo asked frantically. "Is she hurt?"

"She's still breathing," I said distractedly. There had been a flash of magic right before she'd fainted–it had to be a Card. _Riddle, Inner Monologue, High, and Opposite were all caught, so it has to be the Repeat._ "Eriol, what does the Repeat Card do?"

"I don't know," he answered thoughtfully. "You're right, though, it's definitely the RepeatOh–wait–" He broke off suddenly and snorted. "I remember now."

"What does it do?" I asked again, rapidly losing my patience. Of course, having Sakura's face buried in my shirt wasn't really helping.

"It–it makes the subject relive a day of their life over and over," he said, suppressing a laugh. "The time is different for them–an hour here is a day to her."

I glanced down at her, alarmed. "What day is it? And how do we get her out?"

"I don't know what day it is." He coughed, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "And Clow Reed never used the Card, so"

"So?" I asked suspiciously.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I don't know how to get her out."

**__**

"WHAT?!"

"I don't–"

__

"Dammit, Eriol, you _MADE _it! You'd better find a way to get her out and _soon,_ or–or–" I couldn't think of an adequate threat or expletive strong enough to fully convey my thoughts on the subject. 

"It's not my fault," he shot back. 

"Both of you _stop_ fighting, _now!_" Tomoyo shoved between us and glared menacingly. "We need to worry about how we can wake Sakura up, not how you can insult each other. One more argument, and I'll–I'll get Nakuru!"

Eriol paled several shades. "Now, Tomoyo, I'm sure we can come to some sort of compromise–"

"NO!" she yelled. "I _will_ get her! Don't tempt me!_ I'M A WOMAN ON THE EDGE!"_ Her eye twitched slightly. 

"Just–just calm down," I said frantically. "Point taken. This doesn't need to get ugly."

She glowered at us from narrowed eyes. "Is there a truce?"

"Y-yeah." Eriol nodded emphatically, and I reluctantly nodded too.

"Good. Now, you're the ones with the magic. Figure something out." She stalked away, and the door of her room slammed behind her.

We both stared after her, stunned. I couldn't remember the last time she'd lost her temper like that _Has she ever lost her temper?_

"I'm going to opt for the no comment,'" Eriol said weakly. 

"No kidding." I ran a hand through my hair. "What are we going to do with Sakura?"

He smirked. "Well, what _you_ want to do with her is something I don't want to go into, but"

I was ready to strangle him when Tomoyo's door flew open. "ERIOL!" 

"I was joking!" he said hastily. 

"What's going on?" Nakuru thrust her head in the doorway. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?" Touya demanded, bolting into the kitchen and scowling at the sight of Sakura in my arms. 

"She got hit by the Repeat Card," I said angrily. "Get _over_ it, Touya!" 

"TOOOOOOOOOUUUUUYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Nakuru jumped and latched onto him, hanging from his neck. It was remarkably similar to one of those nature shows where a baby monkey would be clinging to the back of its mother. _At least Touya fits the monkey description_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

"There's no one named Syaoran in this class."

__

"What?!" I straightened, confused. 

"There's no one named Syaoran in this class," she repeated. "Are you _sure_ you aren't sick?"

"Y-yeahIs this a joke? Where's Eriol?"

"Who?"

"Eriol."

"Are you _positive_ you aren't sick?"

"Everybody get to your seats!" Mr. Terada came in and I turned to face the board. _Is this some bad joke?_

"We have a new student today." 

"A transfer student in December?" Tomoyo whispered. 

__

A new student–in December–this is just like–

"This is Syaoran Li. He's from Hong Kong."

__

No way No **freaking** way.

A familiar shock of brown hair came into view, and twin pools of amber landed on me, burning darkly like angry, dying coals. 

__

What the **hell** is going on? I stared at my hands. _Am I eleven again? Is this a dream?_

But–if **this** is a dream–then California–

Was **real?**

Think, Sakura. What's going on?

I was sitting in the kitchensomeone had written on the mirror Snatches of memory floated through my head. _Syaoran had justhe'd just dried my face, that was so sweet, and he touched my faceand I thought being with **Yukito** was hanyan_

THINK ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING, SAKURA! 

I wasI was sittingand then something hit me in the back! That's it! There was that flare, and then it hit me in the back and I fainted!

It was a Card. 

__

Riddle, High, Inner Monologue, and Opposite are already taken care of, so it's gotta be Repeat. But how do I get out?

Something brushed past–I'd been staring at my desk while Syaoran had gone by. After a minute, I could feel eyes boring into the back of my skull. 

__

If it's the Repeat, then what I do nowwon't affect the future! It's just a spell to make me relive it.

A shiver ran up my back–that glare he was giving me was _annoying._

Well, I know how to talk mind-to-mind now, don't I? _And my magic's gotten stronger_

That feeling of him watching me intensified, and while I wouldn't have minded him watching me had it been three years into the future, this was bordering insanity-inducing.

__

That's it. This doesn't change what happened, so I can do what I want.

Taking in mental breath, I yelled in my mind, **_QUIT LOOKING AT ME!_**–in perfect Mandarin; Syaoran had taught me. Only since I didn't talk mind-to-mind all that often, it came out louder than I'd intended. Like foghorn-in-your-ear loud. 

After total, shocked silence–on the mental plane; I wasn't even paying attention to the lesson anymore–there was a cautious, defiant response, also in Mandarin. **_Who says I've got a choice? I'm sitting behind you, Holmes._**

**__**

See that book in your hands? I highly suggest you look down and try to understand what the teacher's saying instead of attempting to burn a hole in my head, because you're going to be stuck here for a while. Like the next three years.

And you know this how? 

**__**

Trust me on this one, Li. **_And for quick reference, there is no way in hell I'm giving you the Clow Cards. Leave the Lasin Board in your bag._**

Before he could respond, I shut down my end completely, so he couldn't talk to me anymore. 

He still wanted to talk at lunch, although for what reason I couldn't imagine. I wrapped my hand around the Key, ready for anything. 

"How did you get the Cards?" he asked bluntly.

"Through the Muffin Man," I retorted, my voice sarcastic. 

His eyes narrowed. "Give them to me."

"Ha, good one."

__

Boy, I'm being a real bitch, aren't I?

Well, it doesn't count! I told myself. _Now we've got, what, thirty seconds until Touya comes?_

"Give them to me!"

"No." I crossed my arms. "And I wouldn't recommend trying to take them, because in about five seconds my brother is going to run over here and believe me, you do _not_ want to mess with him."

"The Clow Cards belong in my family," he said angrily. 

"Um, no. The Clow Cards belong to the person who _caught_ them. And unless I'm sadly mistaken, I haven't seen your mother up here, nor any of your sisters, catching Cards."

I think that by now I had not only confused him, but I'd pissed him off. To him, I wasn't supposed to know this stuff. 

__

I just want this day to be over

The rest of the day was normal. I went home, caught the Card, was told by Syaoran that my power was too weak–to which I replied to by saying See how I'm the one with the wand and the _Cards_, here?' –and went home. When I woke up again, I'd be back in California, and I'd seal the Card.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

"Sakura!" Kero popped in my face. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes! You've got fifteen minutes to get to school!"

__

Oh no

Maybe I've just got to let the day pass normally, and then I'll get out. 

So I did. I let Syaoran glare at me. I let him try to take the Cards, although like before, I didn't let him. I caught the Card with his help. 

And when I woke up the next morning, Kero was in my face. 

__

Maybe I have to change one thing, then–but what?

"Give me the Cards!"

I sighed. Three times in a row; I'd heard the same thing, over and over again, three times in a row. Pulling out the Card, I glanced down at it. _The Float._

"You know what? Here." I tossed it to him. "Go wild. Have a ball. Adios." 

He didn't come to help me with the Card; I still woke up with Kero in my face.

This time, I was a lot worse. I yelled at Syaoran to stop looking at me again–out loud, this time. When he tried to use force to take my Cards, I kicked him in the shins. It didn't help anything. Day after day passed, and I just _knew_ I was going to go crazy. 

__

HOW AM I GOING TO GET OUT OF HERE?!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Another day; another Kero in my face.

This day, I didn't catch the Card. The next day, I caught it a few hours early. I did things I'd never, _ever_ do in real life. I refused a costume from Tomoyo. I skipped class. I smacked Kero.

Nothing ever worked. 

Two weeks passed, day after day the same thing. Worse, I couldn't sense the Card, because I was inside of its spell already. 

The fifteenth day came, and I snapped. I didn't put on my school uniform; I slept in, ignoring my father. When he and Touya had both left, I got up, got dressed, and went to the car, ignoring the fact that I didn't know how to drive. Maybe it would help me more. 

Gunning the engine, I backed out and shot down the street. An old lady dove out of my way, and I laughed like a maniac. "HAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! No, I'm _not_ going to put up with _this_ ANYMORE!!! I'm getting out EVEN IF IT KILLS ME! HAAAAAHAAAAA!!!!"

I lurched onto the sidewalk and people frantically scattered, like leaves on the wind. Hitting the gas pedal, I accelerated, leveling a fire hydrant and sending several trashcans hurtling into orbit. 

As I sped along, a cliff came into sight. This was it. 

There was a roar, and I plunged over the guardrail. A crash, an explosion, and it all went black. 

__

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Sakura! I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes! You've got fifteen minutes to get to school!"

I sat up, looked around, and yelled "GOD **_DAMN_** IT!"

I did whatever I could. I committed suicide repetitively. I went on a crime spree. I told Touya to piss off. I told Yukito he was really Yue and my guardian. I told Dad he was really Clow Reed. I told Tomoyo she was going to fall in love with a reincarnation. I told Rika that Mr. Terada was going to marry her, told Chiharu that Yamazaki was going to lie approximately three hundred times in the next two years, told Naoko she was going to win a prize for writing, told everyone everything and it still didn't help. 

An idea came to me after I'd lived approximately three weeks in the same day. Knowing Clow Reed's mind, there was more than a chance that this was the way to get out.

This time, I waited until Syaoran and I were alone and he was trying to get me to give him the Cards. It hadn't gotten ugly yet.

Walking up to him, I yanked him closer by the front of his shirt and kissed him. Face burning, I stalked away, not even wanting to _think_ about whether or not Touya had seen.

I went to bed that night with a light heart. That _had_ to have been the cure. Eriol loved sticking me and Syaoran together, so why wouldn't Clow Reed? They both were equally evil.

__

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Sakura! I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes! You've got fifteen minutes to get to school!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Swearing profusely, I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow, going back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Syaoran

Sakura flinched and rolled over. We hadn't figured anything out, and it had been almost a day. Every hour was another twenty-four for herI didn't even want to try to comprehend how frustrating it had to be for her. Twenty-two days, the same thing

Eriol sat in a replica of his armchair, staring into space, deep in thought. I would have thought that he'd be making out with Tomoyo or something by now, but he wasn't, so instead I assumed he'd doubled his Retalin dosage again and halved the Viagra. 

I turned away from the open doorway and watched Sakura, pained. If I could have, I would have taken this from her, but

__

There has got to be a way to get her out. There **has** to be.

The door flew open with a bang, and Tomoyo darted out, a gleam in her eyes that I definitely did not like. "I think I know what we have to do!"

"What is it?" Eriol asked warily.

"Well, actually, not really we.' It's something one person has to do." A grin started spreading across her face. "Syaoran, you can answer this, you had first hand experience: how did Prince Charming wake Sleeping Beauty up?"

I blushed and scowled, calling from the doorway, "With a–" My voice died when I realized precisely what she had in mind, and heat flooded my face, making it even redder than before. "NO! ABSOLUTELY **NOT!"**

"Fine," she said with a shrug. "She can stay asleep and living in what must be the third circle of hell, and you can just–to put it lightly–_kiss_ this little opportunity goodbye."

Sometimes, I hated her more than I hated Eriol. Which shouldn't have been possible. But it was. 

And the problem was that she was probably right. Clow had a weird personality, and considering how Eriol always tried to get me and Sakura together, why would Clow Reed be any different? 

__

This is so damn stupid it isn't even funny. _And I'd be willing to bet she wants to tape it, too._ _But it's gonna be a cold day in hell when I let her_

Suddenly, I blinked. Maybe I _did_ have a bargaining chip after all

"Go away," I said flatly, "or I won't do it."

__

"What?!"

"Go away," I repeated. "I won't do it unless you and Eriol go away, and since I sincerely doubt you want to see your boyfriend frenching another girl, I'd recommend you turn around and walk away."

She stared at me, horrified, and my return gaze didn't waver. Her mouth silently moved, as if she was trying to say something, but no words came out. Finally, she said, "G-g-g-g-go _away?_"

"And not record," I told her bluntly. "Or else"

Her face immediately lost any color it had. [AN: I'm writing this outsideI'm locked out of my house right now, it's 4:30, and my dad won't be here until at least sixoh no, my leg fell asleep and I can't feel it anymoreIf you want to hear my rants and raves, I'd suggest reading my online Journal–but only if you want to be profoundly disturbed] "N-n-not r-r-r-r-r-r-r–" She couldn't even get the word out.

I grimly shook my head. "Not a single second. Go. Now. See ya later." 

She gave me a last, pleading look, as if her purpose in life would be fulfilled beyond imagination if she could record me having to kiss Sakura.

__

"No." I should my head once more. "And I'd move fast, if I were you, because Touya's gonna be coming back soon and he isn't going to be as thrilled about this as I am–I mean you are!" 

One slip. One tiny little slip, and it was lost. 

"Oh, so you _want_ to kiss her," Eriol taunted as my entire face started turning a brilliant crimson hue. 

"That should have been fairly obvious," Tomoyo returned. "But I don't think want' is the appropriate phraseno, I believe he would be–oh–_thrilled,_ wouldn't you say?"

"You had no intention of not kissing her," Eriol said with his evil, evil smirk. The tiniest bit of respect flickered in his expression. "Pretty tricky, descendant. I think you're starting to get the hang of it." He studied his fingernails, then tossed me a spool of thread. "You'll be using the _that_ in no time."

I caught it, then threw it into the farthest corner of the room. If I had never seen one more spool of thread in my entire life, I would have been perfectly happy. Upon reflection, I realized though that instead of throwing it in the corner, I should have thrown it at Eriol. _Damn. I could have broken his glasses._ "Don't make me hurt you," I growled.

"He has a point," Eriol said seriously. "We really should give them their privacytell Touya they're running errandspick up a few pregnancy tests for Sakura at the store for tomorrow morning"

Tomoyo barely managed to haul his ass out of the way before I lunged at him. If she hadn't, he would have had more than his glasses broken. "Don't kill him," she said breathlessly, although she looked a little irritated with him too. "I can take care of that. You just handle Sakura." Then she looked down, a woebegone frown on her face. "II won't watch" There was a pause. "It–it has to work, Syaoran. She can't stay asleep."

"I know," I said heavily. "I know." It was hard with Sakura not being there. "I-I'll try," I stammered. The noise faded as I went into the room and quietly closed the door behind me. 

Sakura was lying there, her face still, her eyes closed, looking like an angel brought to earth. _Which isn't that far from the truth_

For a minute, I could only look at her. Tomoyo and Eriol could never, _ever_ tell her how she'd been woken up. I'd just tell her she had awoken on her own, or that the Card's power had run out. It was best that way. We were friends; with what had happened yesterday morning, she needed a friend more than she needed someone who liked her and wasn't liked back. [AN: This is SO SADI think I'm gonna cryActually, no, in truth I find it quite funny. In fact, I find the strangest things amusing, toosuch as the fact that in one series Syaoran dies two and a half times, and in A Camp Adventure Gone Wrong Sakura _nearly_ dies twenty three times fun for everyone! It'swhat, 1:44 AM right now? And I'm still awakehen desu ne]

Sighing, I sat down in a chair nearby. She rolled over, now facing me, and I blushed. _Oh, wellmight as well get this over with_

Damn you, Clow Reed. You just **had** to make this the only way out for her

Taking a deep breath, I bent down and kissed her. Which, coincidentally, fulfilled my purpose in life. And then, to my shock, she kissed me back.

I pulled away, only to find she was still asleep–but something shot out of her forehead: the Repeat. It had to be sealed before it escaped and she was trapped in another round of the same day again and again. Pulling out my sword, I trapped it in wind, but that wouldn't last too long.

"Sakura." I shook her carefully, my face burning like none other, and she grumbled. "Sakura, wake up."

"Go 'way, Touya," she mumbled sleepily, scowling. "I don't wanna wake up"

"Sakura, it's me," I told her firmly. "There's a Card to catch."

"Wha?" She forced an eye open. 

I helped her sit up. "The Repeat." I pointed to it. "It's the last of the Leftover Cards, Sakura. After this one, it's over."

"Right," she yawned. "Okaywake me up when I'm supposed to seal it" Her eyelids fell again. Holding in a sigh, I shook her lightly again. "What?" she muttered.

"You have to seal it now," I said. 

"Oh." She pulled out the key, said the chant, and pointed the wand at the Repeat. "RepeatReturn to the formyou were destinedto have" It was sucked into the Card and she caught it, but then the wand shrank swiftly back into the key and she collapsed in my arms again, out cold. The Repeat had to have been drawing on her power to keep its spell sustained. 

[AN: If you think this is over now, you're really, really wrongHa, like _I'd_ leave well enough alone] 

There was a knock on the door, and I gently lowered Sakura back down with an inner sigh. _God, she's beautiful_ "What is it?"

Tomoyo let herself in. "Is she"

"She's out." I looked away, blushing. "That's the last of the Cards."

She picked up the stack of the Cards on the desk, frowning. "She didn't change them all, though."

"She's going to have to do that when she wakes up." Was she going to have the strength, though? The Leftover Cards she hadn't changed–Opposite and Repeat–were strong, and they'd take a lot of power to change. The main reason she'd been drained so fast was that each one Leftover Card was as powerful as ten Clow Cards, there being only five in the Leftover deck and fifty in the Clow deck. And changing them both

It wasn't fair; it never was–never fair that she had to be the one to take all the responsibility, all the load. It wasn't right she had to be the one it all depended on.

"I'll make her a costume!" I'd never seen Tomoyo look happier. She was walking on air as she all but floated out of the room, muttering things under her breath about puffy sleeves. 

12:34. It was 12:34 at night, and I couldn't sleep. 

Sakura had awoken in time for dinner, but she was still sleepy, and Touya had glared at me the entire time over whatever Eriol had managed to make, as if her exhaustion was somehow my fault. 

And was I surprised? Of course not. 

Rolling over, I stared at the ceiling. Eriol had sent Nakuru, Suppi, and Touya back to Tomoeda the minute dinner was over, and the quiet was amazingly relieving.

A flicker of magic in the living room made me jump, and I sat up. As I blinked, the power expanded, then became more concentrated. 

__

SakuraShe's getting ready to change the last two Cards. She had told me a while back that it helped a little if she didn't have to rush the transformation, that it took a little less power.

But why was she changing them now?

I got up and pushed the door open to find her kneeling on the ground, eyes closed in concentration, the glyph of power under her knees. At the noise, her eyes flew open and she glanced up at me, startled. "Oh–um–hi?" she said weakly.

"Any particular reason for choosing this time to change them?" I asked dryly. "As opposed to oh, say, when it's light out?"

She blushed, looking away. "Um" 

I followed her gaze to Tomoyo's door. "Don't want the costume?" 

She shook her head. "Besides, I figured if I did it now, nobody would be watching."

I knelt by her. "Can you change them both at once?"

She laughed quietly. "I think I'm about to find out."

"If–if you need any help" 

"I'll let you know," she said with a smile. Turning back to the Cards, she put them in front of her and I leaned back, still worried. 

The power flowed around her, going into the Cards, and the sparks flew around each, but after a minute they backed down and her eyes narrowed in an obvious, if silent, struggle. Light from the Cards and the magic danced over her face; it was the only light in the dark room. 

She clenched her eyes tighter, her fingers tightening around the staff, but it was starting to fade.

__

Well, it's like trying to transform twenty Cards at once. **No one** could do that. 

I put one hand on the staff as hers slipped down a little, and my power went into it. Her magic was already all in there, bright and, in a way, more alive than any other kind of magic I'd ever seen. 

Her hands slid down a little more, covering mine, and I blushed, but the important thing was getting the Cards changed. 

There was a flash, and tiny sparks rained down around us, but the two Cards were transformed. They floated down into her hands as she smiled, letting the wand fall, and I let go. 

Her eyes closed suddenly, and she fell back. I caught her, concerned, then realized she'd totally drained herself and sighed.

And then I remembered that I, too, had totally drained myself, which meant _I_ would be falling asleep within the next three seconds–

It all went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

__

I really don't want to move

I drifted between sleep and consciousness. If I woke up, I'd find I was back in my bed, not where I wanted to be. 

Why were my dreams all so cruel?

Like that one, where I'd gone to sleep–still trapped by the Repeat–and I'd had a dream where Syaoran was in my room, watching me while I slept, and then he'd kissed me. And it had felt so real I'd kissed him back

But then I wasn't in the spell anymore. It had just vanished. I'd still been asleep, but it was _gone._

In fact, not just my dreams, but my whole life was cruel. I mean, if you thought about it, every time a Card had attacked me, I'd been humiliated. There was that time with the Opposite where I'd tried to do something to Syaoran that I tried not to think about now, then when the High had attacked and I'd made an ass out of myself, and the Inner Monologue–where the heck had the phrase man-cake' even _come_ from? 

__

But it's all over. I transformed the last two Cards

Wait, no. I think I'm dreaming, because it feels like Syaoran's holding me, and that's gotta be some kind of dream. So I never transformed them anyway.

AND WHY AM I EVEN HAVING THAT KIND OF DREAM?!?!

What if ita dream?

Think, Sakura. Your magic's really low, and then that dream where he kissed me–I haven't thought about it that much. _Maybe–maybe it **was** real. It looked so real_

But I want to know whether **this** is real or not! And I want to know **NOW!**

I forced my eyes open, and something–I wasn't sure what–swam into view. Then my vision cleared, and I blushed wildly, my face turning a bright cherry red. 

Oh, no. I was not in my bed–or if I _was,_ I _definitely_ had forgotten a _lot_ about what happened last night.   
My head was resting on _his_ shoulder. Of all the shoulders in the world, of all the ones my head could have been resting on, it was resting on _his._ Even better, I was leaning on him, like I'd passed out and he'd caught me.

And then I realized that was precisely what had happened. We'd both been drained, I'd fainted, and he'd passed out right after catching me. 

Only during the night, while both of us slept, it seemed that I at least had gotten closer.

Much, much closer.

Much, much, much, _much_ closer.

I held my breath, afraid beyond afraid of moving and we were either closer or further apart, because movement in any direction had to have one of those direct results. More distance between him and I was bad and good, but closer

I was _this_ close to a nosebleed. His face was so close to mine I just _knew_ I was going to have a heart attack, and soon. And this was not close as in twelve inches between us.' This was close as in his hair brushing my forehead.' 

Like I said, I was _this_ close to a nosebleed. Two inches, two _tiny,_ _microscopic_ inches, and my mouth would meet his. And–even better–his arm was around me. Like he was holding me closer to him. 

In fact, the nosebleed was long gone. Any minute now, I was going to pass out again. 

For a long few minutes, I couldn't move, frozen like some cruel parody of a deer in the headlights. 

Since when did my life become so gratifying? I mean, sure, people I knew and loved were in constant danger because of me, I was currently being threatened by an unknown psychotic sociopath, my best friend was obsessed with taping me, oh yeah and there was that whole most powerful sorceress known alive' deal. But in exchange for that I had Syaoran holding me and that was far more gratifying than an ocean of jewels. 

Sighing, I closed my eyes and laid my head back on his shoulder. Exhaustion was dragging on my eyelids again, and I still didn't have enough strength back to get up and go to my room, so if I was going to fall asleep, I was most definitely going to fall asleep right here, as close to Syaoran as possible.

When I woke up again, the first thing I saw was his face, still bare inches from mine. And I blushed harder than ever. 

The second thing I saw–once I moved my head–was the clock, which read 10:16. Both of us had slept in, although I never minded. 

And then the third thing I saw was a round, glassy lens. 

The eye of Satan. 

__

Oh, **shit**

Great. Just spifferiffic. Now she's got footage of what looks like me sleeping with Syaoran. The fun never stops, does it? 

Sitting up, I scowled at the camera, then looked around, spotted a can of whipped cream–undoubtedly placed there by Eriol in a sick-minded attempt at embarrassing us–popped the top of, and proceeded to spray the entire camera with fluffy white sugar/chemical mixture. 

__

Bah, humbug.

I picked up the two Cards and looked at them, more than tempted to use the Opposite on Tomoyo, just for a day, so she would finally lay off the recording. Sure, Eriol would strangle me because he couldn't make out with her–if she loved him in real-mode, in Opposite-mode she'd hate his guts–but I was still more than tempted. 

__

Well, I'll think about it. I think I'm going to go to sleep again. I buried my face in Syaoran's shoulder once more, closing my eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The scream rang through the house as Syaoran and I both sat up at the same time, then sprang apart. My face was burning, and his was fairly red too, like he was really mad. Instant guilt mounded up in me. _What on **earth** was I thinking? And what the hell was that noise?!_

"MY CAMERA!!!"

__

Oh.

"It was the camera gnomes," I said solemnly. 

"SAAAAAAKUUUUURRRRRAAAA!!!!!!!" Tomoyo looked ready to burst into tears. 

"Tomoyo, how many _other_ cameras have you got in your room, huh? Two hundred? Two hundred fifty?"

"Seven hundred and ninety-three," she sniffed. "But _still!_"

For a minute, I couldn't quite speak, but then I managed to at least make my mouth work. "T-T-T-Tomoyo, I think having seven hundred and ninety-three cameras is pretty okay"

"But I missed the footage of you sleeping together!" She wiped the whipped cream off a compartment, then pulled out the tape. "Oh, it's still clean! I can watch you guys anyway!"

Syaoran's face went all red, as did mine, but I figured that he was just mad again. And I didn't blame him. After all, who wanted a documented video of you and someone you didn't even like in that way sleeping together?

Well, not in _that_ sense, but still

I think Syaoran was about to say something when there was a crack and a crash of shattering glass; then the tape in her hands exploded into a shower of plastic. Tomoyo and I both screamed, and there was another crack as something pushed me down. Eriol threw the door open and pulled Tomoyo to the floor. The sharp bangs were snapping through the air, fast and furious, and it took me a minute to realize Syaoran was keeping an arm over my shoulders. Now, though, everything was too dangerous for me to care. 

Small black holes riddled the walls, and the windows were all broken by now. After about thirty seconds, the gunfire stopped, but none of us moved or dared to move. 

__

I need to protect us somehow, if they aren't gone

But what if they see? I need a Card to protect, one that people without magic can't see

That's it!

Glass rained off my back as I got to my knees, ignoring the shards cutting into my skin. Closing my eyes, I called the wand to me, and it flew into my outstretched hand.

"Sakura, get down!" 

Ignoring Syaoran for once, I called a Card. _This better work._ "Shield Card, Release!"

The power swirled around us, then snapped and shivered over the walls of the room, coating each in an unbreakable barrier. "They can't see it," I said breathlessly. "Tomoyo, you can't see it, right?"

She shook her head. "Not at all."

Something sent ripples through the power, and I looked up to the window to find a bullet lodged in Shield's power. 

Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes, feeling the tiny lead missile fight me. More bullets thudded into the wall of magic, trying to force their ways through, and I paled, breathing hard. My hand clenched as I tried to hold them off. "Someone call 911," I gasped. "The phone's in the kitchen, right?" Someone–I didn't even notice who it was–nodded. "Hold on, I'll get it over there too." A bubble of Shield's magic split away and snapped around the walls of the kitchen, and someone got up and ran in. 

Sweat rolled down my face as even more bullets tried to drill through. My magic hadn't been able to restore itself to even half its usual amount, or this wouldn't have been a problem, but now it was draining swiftly into Shield, trying to keep my friends safe. 

A hand went over mine, then another on my other side, and Eriol and Syaoran added their power to Shield. Tomoyo's voice carried easily from the kitchen, and then sirens wailed in the air. The gunfire came to a sudden halt, and then somehow I knew that _they_ were gone. 

"Look out," I warned, my voice worn. "I'm gonna let it go."

"Okay." Eriol and Syaoran moved back, and Tomoyo nodded from the kitchen. I took a ragged breath, then pulled the barrier away from the window. A cluster of bullets buried themselves in the crumbling wall; and then came the silence. No one said anything; a dangling shard of glass fell with a crunch; the sound of police sirens echoed in the air. A cut on my cheek from where a falling piece of glass had cut it slowly trickled a thin stream of blood. Needle-sharp pain in my knees made me stand, brush glass off the couch, and sit on it; glass had cut my legs from where I'd knelt in it. Patches of red were on both of my pajama legs, right over my knees, and thin rips were everywhere. Lines of blood ran down my arm. I wasn't seriously hurt anywhere except for possibly my knees, but I was dead tired. Leaning back against the couch, I closed my eyes. The wand shrank. 

But I couldn't just sit around. There had to be something I could do. Standing, I looked around and saw a broom. "Come on, you guys," I said slowly, my voice dizzy. "Let's get this mess taken care of" 

And then something slammed into my arm, the pain more intense than anything I'd ever felt in my life. 

The walls were spinning, the concerned shouts wavering in my ears. Something–a pair of strong arms–caught me, but I was too far gone. Everything faded. 

__

Blackness. I was in blackness. 

But it didn't make sense. I could hear and feel and smell, but–I couldn't see. 

What was going on?

And then something was happening.

Brief flashes–flashes of a picture–no, many pictures–what was this?

Me, my face furious–in a chair?

A desperate face, so familiar it hurt to see.

A sound–gunfire.

Deadly footsteps. 

"No!"

BANG!

"Don't let go"

A hand.

"Leave–leave him alone!"

"Don't you **dare** leave me!"

"It won't work!"

****

I don't want to die

The strangest feeling, but I liked it.

Syaoran

"I won't let them."

More gunfire.

"Stay away from her!"

"NO!"

"No!"

I sat bolt upright, felt my knees and arms explode, and clenched my eyes tightly shut.

"Take it easy, Sakura." 

That voice made me force my eyes open. "Syaoran?" I looked around. "Where am I?"

"The hospital," he said quietly. The steady beeping of a heart monitor–my heart monitor–quickened slightly.

"Why am I here?" I leaned back, closing my eyes, but then I opened them again to watch him. 

"Well, let's see," he said thoughtfully. "Where's that paper?" He picked up a clipboard from a table nearby and shook his head. "A bullet in your shoulder, broken collarbone as a result thereof, multiple lacerations on your face and limbs, shards of glass in your knees, and several gashes that needed stitches. Oh yes, and extreme exhaustion." He smiled slightly. "That's how they classified your drain." 

"Oh." I took in a deep breath. "Anyone else hurt?" 

"No." He shook his head.

"Did they catch them?" I asked, expecting a positive response.

He looked away. "No," he said softly. "They didn't."

__

"What?!"

"They didn't catch them." His voice was quiet with checked anger. "They found two guns on the top of a house nearby, but no fingerprints."

I let that sink in, then asked slowly, "So the psychopathic freaks that tried to kill us all are still out there?"

"Yeah." I saw his fist clench, the fingers white-knuckled. 

__

Wow, he's even more pissed off about this than I am. "Wellwe're still going to San Francisco tomorrow, and then we head home after that, so there isn't that much to worry about."

He blinked at me, surprised, then shook his head in amazement. 

"What?" I asked, confused. _Beep_ The heart monitor stayed the same.

He sighed, then said after a pause, "You."

"_What?"_ Now I was even more confused than before.

"I swear that there has not been one single time where you have taken a negative look at _anything,_" he said dryly. "Never."

"Is that a bad thing?" What if me being optimistic was annoying?  
He shook his head. "Not at all." 

I smiled, blushing at the fact that he'd complimented me. _What would I do without him?_

__

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Hey, you're awake!" Tomoyo and Eriol walked in, and then Tomoyo stopped and glanced up at something over my head. "Eriolit's December 21st today, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he answered, puzzled.

"Well, what's the name of that stuff people put over their doorways?"

"Wreaths, Tomoyo. They're called wreaths."

"No, not that, it's like mouse-to or thistle-toe or something."

"Mistletoe?" 

"Yeah, that's it." A slow, wicked smile started spreading across her face, and as I watched, realization dawned on Eriol's face. "What's the tradition they have for that?"

__

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Oh, for mistletoe?" he asked innocently. "Why, if someone is underneath a sprig of mistletoe, they have to kiss the nearest person of the opposite sex." Her eyes never left that one location right over my head.

If my knees had not been in ribbons, I would have strangled her on the spot. As it were, I was glaring at her and hoping she would turn to stone. 

For I knew what was right over my head. And I knew who the nearest boy to me was.

__

Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Beep-beep! The pitch of the rapid beeping rose.

"Well?" she asked expectantly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Syaoran looking steadily at the ground, blushing about as hard as I was.

To this day, my hands have never shook harder in my life. "I d-d-d-don't c-c-c-c-care a-b-b-b-bout tradition," I stammered, my face burning. [AN: Well, hey, there's a lot of blushing in this chapter too! Coincidence? I think not] 

"Oh, but you _can't_ go against _tradition,_ Sakura," she chastised. "I'm sure neither of you mind."

__

I mind! I sure as god damn HELL mind!

"You know the rules," she sang. 

__

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep

I am **so** getting you back for this, Tomoyo.

There was a humiliated pause, and then somehow, someway, my mouth met his. [AN: I just noticed there's a lot of kissing in this chapter too. Huh. Well, the next one will be more violent, then. ^_^ Maybe someone can die!]

__

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

The funny thing was, once we started kissing, we didn't stop. Which mystified me to no end, because as far as I knew, _I_ was the one who liked _him _and not vice versa. 

At this point, my heart monitor was just one long, unending note–the beeps were so fast you couldn't hear the pauses in between. 

After a minute, we broke apart, blushing furiously. I could hardly look at him.

Looking somewhat dazed, he said hoarsely, "Excuse me," and was out of that room so fast I didn't even see him go.

"Merry Christmas to all," Tomoyo said smugly, slipping her arm through Eriol's, "and to all a good night." They walked out, leaving me to sit in my bed, wondering what exactly had just happened.

And then I looked up, ready to set that evil piece of mistletoe on fire.

The only thing over my head was a candy cane and a miniature wreath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joyful Festivus, everyone! No, it isn't over yet, and I'll tell you why: sure, they kissedbut both of them are going to think that the other did it as a spur-of-the-moment deal, that the other still doesn't like them. After all, you know me–I've got to drag this out over a span of at least nine chapters or so! 

Merry Christmas! 


	8. The King and I

Vacation!

Chapter Eight: The King and I

Okay, first of all, thank you EVERYBODY for all your reviews! T_T You love me! You REEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYY LOVE ME!!! I think I'm gonna cry Now, this is probably one of my favorite chapters, partially due to the fact that it's set in my favorite place of all time: San Francisco! And it uses the lyrics to Michelle Branch's Goodbye To You'—which I _also_ don't own—but has to be one of my top ten songs of all time. Warning, though: in this chapter there are:

--Flames on Ricky Glassy-Ass (my nickname for Enrique Iglesias)

--A _ton_ of sappy, sugary parts—diabetics beware

--A lot of Author's Notes in the most random of places

--Strange analogies

--More than a few twists

--A very pissed off Sakura

--A very depressed Syaoran

--Several near-fatalities

--A lot of pretending

--And fun for the whole family!

Believe me, if I owned this, you'd know.

Oh yes, and lyrics—I think you'll know the difference between lyrics and mind-to-mind communication—are written like **_this._** Pretty straightforward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

I could not sleep.

__

He kissed me, my mind was repeating. _He kissed me. He kissed me. He kissed me. He kissed—_

Enough! I've gotten the point!

But he **kissed** me!!!!

Sighing, I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow. Why did life have to be so confusing? 

__

That's another thing to add to the Why' list _Why do I have magic, why am I in love with him, why does Kero eat so much_

And, of course, none of them will ever be answered.

I clenched my eyes shut, tried to think of something else, and failed. 

__

He's a good kisser, I know that.

OKAY! I **REALLY** NEED TO THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE!

Such as what? How good he looks with his shirt off?

NO!!! GOD **DAMN** IT!!!!! 

I was almost in tears. What had happened, really? Was he just doing it to be nice? Or was there something more? But what if it was just Tomoyo's prodding, or a hormone overdrive? 

__

That has to be it. He doesn't like me, or I'd know.

Wouldn't I?

He doesn't like you, Sakura. Stop fantasizing and think about what's **important.** Why did those people want to kill me? I need answers, and I need them fast. _What would make them want to kill me?_

I focused my power and tried to figure it out. There was a reason to all of this; there had to be. 

The pieces came to me slowly, in my mind's eye as I bent my power to the task. I saw me, capturing the High Card. The words Satan' and evil' echoed through my thoughts. A computer screen, with information about both Syaoran and I on its surface. **_" We need to eliminate them." _**

There was Syaoran's skateboard, going up in flames. There was me, talking with the Riddle. Two figures, with binoculars.

How were they all connected?

__

Think, Sakura! They're trying to kill you Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol for a reason, and all of those have to do with it!

****

"I think it's worse. See the boy? I think he's Satan, and she's either a minion or a mistress." 

__

"She seems to be his mistress."

"The girl is another form of Satan, and her friends are demons. We need to eliminate them all."

That's it!

I sat bolt upright, my mind wildly putting it all together. They were trying to kill us because they thought Syaoran and I were evil! They must have seen us use magic somehow, and then concluded that we had to be demons or something. 

It was simple—yet deadly. 

I leaned back and closed my eyes, wondering what I was going to do, and when I was going to tell Syaoran. He had to know soon because he was one of the targets, but somehow I got the idea that they were really just after me. 

"Miss Kinomoto?"

I jumped. There was a doctor standing in the doorway. "Y-yes, that's me," I said breathlessly. 

"You need an injection," he said thoughtfully, studying his clipboard as he shut the door behind him. 

"Oh." I flinched. Shots unnerved me. "Okay."

He pulled a vial of clear liquid out of a pocket in his scrubs and put it in a syringe, pushing out a tiny drop. Satisfied, he strode over. I closed my eyes and turned away, feeling the needle prick my skin. The pain faded swiftly.

__

Wait a second. Something wasn't right. Weren't they supposed to rub my arm with one of those alcohol pads? Or—something—something was supposed to happen, and it hadn't happened, and it wasn't good

I wrenched my eyes open and stared up at the doctor, my terrified green eyes meeting his chilly blue ones. There was an icy tone in them, and in his expression, that told me I was right. I opened my mouth to scream—

And nothing came out. The drug had stolen my voice, A slow numbness spread through me as I watched him pick up a scalpel, the stainless steel glittering in the dim light, a deadly razor-sharp. 

My mind shrieked in pure terror, and I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that I was Projecting—whoever was receiving was not only hearing me but seeing what I saw. 

The scalpel hung over me as I struggled to move out of the way and failed, my muscles all numb and motionless. The blue eyes of my attacker stared grimly down at me, unblinking, like twin orbs of blue ice.

The door flew open with a crash and something hurtled into him, the scalpel falling to the ground with a falsely innocent metallic ring. My would-be killer staggered to his feet and paused, then ran out the door as I felt the drug wear off. My heart still pounding, I managed to sit up, hearing footsteps pound down the halls outside in pursuit of my attacker. 

"Sakura?" Syaoran asked unsteadily. "Are you all right?"

I nodded mutely, trying to hold in my tears and failing miserably. My voice still wasn't working, and I couldn't make a sound as a drop slowly traced its way down my face. The room vanished when I closed my eyes, trying to dry my face and not fall apart on him. 

"No," he said softly, sounding closer. Which, coincidentally, would have made me blush before; but considering I had nearly been killed once more, I was not in a blushing mood. "You aren't all right." 

I couldn't help it. I was scared—no, terrified, lonely, in a way, and far, far from home. All I wanted was my life to be back to normal again. I wanted my old room, with the living stuffed animal, the chilly Tomoeda winter, the snow, the storms, I wanted it back. I was sick of the trip; I wanted to go home. I didn't want psychos after me and Syaoran. I didn't want to die before I got a chance to tell him. 

In fact, what I really wanted was just somebody to make me feel safe and protected, someone who knew why I was such a mess, someone who wouldn't care if I stopped pretending to be cheerful and really cried.

And it occurred to me: I had been this upset before, although for a different reason—Yukito's rejection. And I'd needed to cry before.

He really knew me, Syaoran did. After all we'd been through together, after the five years, he knew me like no one else. Even Tomoyo didn't know some of the things he did. He could tell in an instant what I needed, which was one of the things I really loved about him. [AN: The sapI think I'm gonna be sickDiabetics, bewareAfter all the holiday fudge (Butterscotch fudge) and cookies andwell, I haven't had anything but sugar all dayand now thisOh god, I'll be a diabetic by sunrise.] 

"It's okay, Sakura," he told me quietly. "You can cry." More tears crept out frum under my eyelids, sliding down my cheek as I felt warm arms go around me. [AN: I swear, I think the sugar has gotten into my writingsailor shouts SHE'S GONNA BLOW!!! JadeWing runs to worship the Porcelain Throne in the Water Temple] I buried my face in his shoulder, infinitely grateful for someone who understood.

Exhaustion was wearing at me, though, and I was being pulled asleep like a potato chip in the wind. [AN: Somewhat an inside joke, but I love that analogy!] I didn't even notice it, however, and then I was dreaming

__

Deadly footsteps. 

"No!"

BANG!

"Don't you **dare** leave me!"

"It won't work!"

****

I don't want to die

Syaoran

"I won't let them."

More gunfire.

"Sakura."

__

"Stay away from her!"

"NO!"

The dream vanished as my eyes flew open, but the sense that I _knew_ that somehow did not. Blinking, I tried to think of what had woken me up.

"Sakura. Wake up."

If I could hear that voice again, I would be supremely happy

"Mmm" I clenched my eyes shut again. 

He shook me lightly. "Sakura, the police are here."

"I didn't do it," I mumbled sleepily. "It was Eriol. _He_ stole the cookies from the cookie jar, the dirty bastard."

There was a pointed cough from the other side of the room, and Syaoran said dryly, "I'm not arguing with that, but I don't think it's a matter of cookies."

"What are they saying?" I heard a policeman mutter. 

"It's Japanish," another one answered. "Beats me."

"Hoe" I sat up, blinking in the bright light. 

"Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked anxiously, rushing over to me. "I was so worried—"

"Syaoran saved me." I immediately regretted my words, as a gleam came into her eye the minute she heard them. 

"Saved you?" she asked shrewdly. "Is this true?"

"Excuse me," a leather-faced policeman said uncomfortably. "We need to ask you a few questions. Do any of you understand English?"

"Actually, I'm from England," Eriol said pleasantly. "These are my friends. I can translate for you."

I shot him a surprised glance, but figured he had some kind of motive. After all, if he wanted, he could have done a translation spell, but instead he'd chosen to act as translator. 

__

But he doesn't know I studied English after school

"What happened?" the policeman asked, taking out a pen and pad of paper.

"What happened?" Eriol echoed.

"What's the deal, Eriol?" I asked him. 

"I am appalled at your lack of faith in me," he said innocently. "I am merely acting as the bridge over the culture gap."

Syaoran muttered something that wasn't too polite as I took a deep breath, then said, "I was trying to sleep when the man came to my door and said I needed an injection." Eriol repeated what I said in English, and I continued. "I didn't think it was unusual until after he'd given me the shot, because he hadn't put on gloves or done the usual preparation. I couldn't move or speak, and then he was about to kill me when Syaoran came."

"She didn't notice something was up until after he'd given her the shot. By then, she couldn't move or speak, and he was going to kill her when her boyfriend came."

"Wha—" I broke off before I gave myself away and yelled furiously in my mind at Eriol, shrieking for his mental ears alone. **_What the hell do you mean, boyfriend?! You tell them right now that he isn't my boyfriend! I mean it, Eriol!_**

Oh, I don't know, he said smoothly. **_I could always say you're engaged._**

Don't even try it! Or I—I—I'll use the Opposite on Tomoyo! She'll hate your guts! And I'm not kidding!

"Oh—wait. They aren't dating," he said blandly, adding, "yet."

**__**

ERIOL!!!

"What happened after that?" barked the policeman, his tone brisk.

"He dropped the scalpel and ran away," I answered, and Eriol translated for me. 

"And at the house in Balboa?"

"We were in the living room when a bullet broke the window and the video Tomoyo had." I waited for Eriol to translate, then continued. "We were all on the floor, and they kept shooting, and Tomoyo got to the kitchen and called 911 from there. They stopped shooting when the sirens came."

Eriol finished translating, and the policeman nodded thoughtfully. "What did the attacker look like?"

"He was a little taller than me and he had blue eyes," I said slowly. "He was kinda scrawny." 

"Right" He scribbled something down and asked, "Why do you think they're after you?"  
"Not a clue," I lied. Eriol gave me an understanding look and repeated what I'd said to them. 

"Well, we can check the fingerprints on the scalpel, and if we come up with anything, we'll let you know right away." At my nod, he walked out, and I leaned back. 

__

What a day

And then another doctor walked in. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't quite place it. "Good morning, Miss Kinomoto," he said cheerfully. "Thought you might want to know what all is wrong with you."

"Okay" I said nervously. _Americans sure have a funny way of saying things_

"First of all, you have several cuts from the falling glass. Second, when they carted you in here, you had a shoulder full of lead and knees full of glass. We got all of the glass out, and it took a lot of work, but you should be able to walk in about two weeks. In fact, you're healing much faster than usual. The collarbone—you broke it when you got shot—is a different matter. You'll need the cast for at least a month, although" He trailed off a minute, then leaned forward. "I believe I'll enlighten you a bit, Miss Kinomoto. My name is Yu Jiango _Li._ Now, not that I'm suggesting anything, but you're healing as fast as if you were oh, say, under a spell? And Xiao Lang, does the Clan know you're in America?"

"Uncle Yu?" He grinned. "I thought I recognized you. And no, they don't."

"Miss Kinomoto, I sincerely doubt you want to keep a cast for so long," he said gravely, his eyes twinkling. 

"No, sir," I said innocently. "I've always been a fast healer, though."

"Now, listen," he said lowly. "I can handle the paperwork, and Clow Reed can handle the memories, correct?" 

Eriol nodded, bowing at the same time. "Call it a hobby," he said casually.

"Then you just work on healing yourself," said Doctor Li. "From what I've heard, you've got more to worry you than a broken collarbone."

"You're telling me," I said tiredly.

By nine o'clock the next day, we were on the road.

For we had one more place to go before we went home. One more place; four days; and then I was on a one-way trip to Tomoeda. 

But we had to survive San Francisco first. And it didn't help that _they_ were making me sit next to _him_ for the drive. 

And I didn't want to try to fall asleep, either. I'd been getting that nightmare that was creeping me out. I knew it was because of the attack in Balboa, but it didn't help any. 

Holding in a sigh, I stared out the window. My reflection was superimposed over the scenery, as was Syaoran's, and I watched him. He seemed deep in thought about something, but what? 

__

Will I ever completely figure him out? And do I want to?

We were there.

The most confusing city in the world. The city on a hill. One of the most culturally diverse centers in the world, with some of the tallest—and strangest—buildings in the world. 

I stared around me, suitcases in hand. People hustled past. A streetcar clanged by. Honks and voices rang through the air; the weather was slightly cool. 

And, coincidentally, the bus we were riding had broken down in front of Chinatown. 

Mr. Terada had said that the hotel wasn't that far away, that we could walk, that it wouldn't be an issue. And so we'd all piled out, although Syaoran had looked somewhat nervous, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.

That reminded me; where was Syaoran? Turning around, I found him keeping his back towards the opening of Chinatown. 

__

What the—?

"Syaoran, come on!" I called. "We've got to get to the hotel!"

He flinched, then turned around. 

And the noise of Chinatown came to a sudden halt. There was total silence as every single person on the street looked at him, amazed. 

"IT'S LI XIAO LANG!!!" someone yelled.

Immediately, the screams of hundreds of teenage girls wrenched through the air, and dozens of heads were thrust out windows and turned towards him. 

He ran a hand through his hair and stared at the ground, irritated. 

And then the whole street seemed to fall a few feet as everyone dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the ground. 

Traffic came to a halt, and when I looked behind me, there was this_ wave_ of teenage girls racing towards us. Police cars skidded to a halt behind the bus, sirens wailing. 

Eriol, of course, knew exactly what to say.

Turning to Syaoran, he said accusingly, "You sent them fruit baskets, didn't you? I _told_ you not to, I _said_ they'd be too grateful, but _noooo,_ the almighty leader of the Li Clan just _has_ to go and send them the pomegranates. And you threw in the chocolates, too. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"Eriol, _shut _up," he muttered. 

"UmmSyaoran?" I asked nervously. "What's going on?"

"There's something on his face," Eriol said seriously. "This is what happens when Syaoran Li walks outside after lunch without checking a mirror first." 

I shook my head. "I'm confused. There isn't anything on his face."

"I'll explain it to her," Eriol offered. Slinging his arm around my shoulders, he said in a stage whisper loud enough for everyone to hear, "See, Sakura, right before we left Tomoeda, _Playboy_ magazine had Syaoran do a photo shoot—"

"ERIOL!" Syaoran shoved him. "That is _not_ true!" he growled, blushing.

"UmmI still don't get it" 

"Let's put it this way," Tomoyo said simply. "Sakura, you know Prince William of England?" I nodded. [AN: He has one lucky girlfriend*_*] "Well, he wants Syaoran's autograph."

__

"What?!" 

"He's kinda like the prince of China," Yamazaki explained. "The Li Clan is, well, the royal family."

Syaoran looked pained. 

"Well," I said breathlessly, trying to work it out for myself. "That'snice. Um, does this mean you've got bodyguards?" 

"Actually, we're all his bodyguards in disguise," Tomoyo informed me.

"Really?"

"Of course not."

"Oh."

"Did you know that the first bodyguard came from Estonia?" 

"YAMAZAKI!" 

__

WHAM!

"I don't get it," I said slowly. "What's happening?"

"Master Li!"

A small, spry old woman hurried over. "Master Li, come with me!" [AN: Hey, that rhymes! I'm a POET!!!! YAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!]

"Tsu Ha Sing?" he asked incredulously. 

"Yes!" She bowed low, then motioned for us all to follow her. "Come!"

Exchanging looks, we all followed her, and people only got up after we'd passed. I heard Mr. Terada mumbling something about how it wasn't in the itinerary, but we didn't have anything to do but sightsee today, so it wasn't that big of a deal. 

She led us to an expensive-looking restaurant, and we followed her inside. The scent of rich food floated past my nose, and my stomach reminded me that it had been around seven hours since I'd eaten last. 

"Sit, please!" She gestured at the empty restaurant, arms wide open, adding, "It's on the house! Please!"

For Syaoran, Tomoyo, Eriol, and I, however, she ushered us over to a table set a little apart from the others and just out of earshot of our classmates.

And she sat me next to Syaoran. 

__

Why me? Why me? Why me?

I checked my watch to find it was around 6:30 PM. 

"Li Xiao Lang," Ha Sing said wonderingly. "What did you do to the Clan that they would let you come to America?" 

"They don't know," he said seriously, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "I unplugged the phone."

"Well, Xiao Lang, I'm sorry, but in about half an hour it's going to be all over the seven o'clock news that the leader of the most powerful Clan on earth is in America." She shook her head ruefully. "And who's this?"

"This is Sakura Kinomoto," he answered. "The Card Mistress."

"The _Card_ Mistress?" she asked, her eyes widening. _"The_ Card Mistress? The _Card Mistress?_"

"Um," I said nervously, "yeah."

She bowed deeply again, though to me this time, then straightened and sent a look to Syaoran. "Keeping high company these days, Xiao Lang?" 

"He helps when people come to challenge me for the Cards," I explained.

"I see," she said, the tiniest hint of slyness in her tone. Why it was there, though, I had no idea. "Dinner will be ready in a moment, Xiao Lang."

"Ha Sing—" He started to protest.

"Don't you Ha Sing' me," she ordered. "It's on the house. And Mu Han will want to talk to you."

"He's here?" 

"Xiao Lang!" A tall young man with dark black-brown hair and bright gray eyes hurried over as Ha Sing left. "What on earth are _you_ doing here?" Seeing me, he grinned and added, "And who's the chick?"

Syaoran sighed wearily. "Mu Han" Giving the young man a glare, he said dryly, "This is Sakura Kinomoto, the Card Mistress, you dolt."

He went into a sudden coughing fit. When it had passed, he was leaning on the edge of the table to support himself and gasping for breath. _"C-c-come again?"_

"The Card Mistress," I said innocently. 

"Excuse me," he wheezed. With a thud, he dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"What did I do?" I asked, confused again. 

"Let's just say you're famous," Eriol said smugly. "Like, Merlin would want your autograph."

__

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, you captured the most powerful forces on earth," he said thoughtfully. "And then there was the whole deal with defeating the Guardian of the Moon, because he's more powerful than ninety percent of the sorcerers out there. And considering how much power it takes to work a Card, that itself was pretty impressive. And then you went and put more power in them before, and defeated the reincarnation of the most powerful sorcerer known to man before then. If you put it in the right perspective, you're just about queen of the magical world."

I blinked at him. "C-c-could you say that again please?"

"You're at the rank of queen of the magical world. No one has powers greater than yours."

"Let me get this straight," Mu Han said dazedly, now on his knees and hanging onto the table. "You, Xiao Lang, are hanging out with the _freaking Card Mistress._"

"Yeah," he said slowly.

"And this is nothing new?"

"No"

Mu Han shook his head. "I _really_ need to get out more."

"Get up, you moron," Syaoran sighed. "How have you been?"

"Business is good," he said cheerfully. "Introduce me, Xiao Lang."

"This is Tomoyo Daidouji—"

"Sonomi Daidouji? Related?" he interrupted, stunned.

"Actually, I'm her daughter," Tomoyo answered, surprised.

Mu Han sent Syaoran a look of pure amazement. "Next thing you're going to tell me is that _that_ guy is Clow Reed," he said sarcastically, pointing to Eriol.

"Actually, just his reincarnation," Eriol answered amiably. 

Mu Han passed out again, and I took the opportunity to ask Syaoran how he knew all these people.

"Ha Sing used to be in charge of the kitchens at home before she left for America," he answered. "Mu Han's her grandson. We were best friends."

"Oh." I traced a pattern in the water drops on the table. "You didn't tell me you were so famous."

"It didn't matter to me," he replied, a strange tone in his voice: not quite bitter, but more than just annoyed. "And having an entire street get on their knees isn't my favorite thing to see."

"Oh." The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Syaoran never had wanted more attention than the average Joe. "Have you been in any magazines?"

Eriol cut in. "Maxim, Playboy, Cosmopolitanhe had a very successful run as a Playmate."

"I _like_ this guy's style, Syaoran," Mu Han said respectfully as he picked himself up off of the floor. 

Syaoran looked incredibly close to strangling both Eriol and Mu Han on the spot. Instead, he said, "Actually, Eriol, from what Tomoyo tells me, those were pictures of you."

He grinned. "Touché, descendant. Touché." 

"So, what's the deal with you two?" Mu Han asked, waving his hand at me and Syaoran. "Are you guys, like, dating, or what?"

__

OH MY GOD.

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic.

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

"I'm melting, melting, oh what a world what a world"

It didn't help that I, in the middle of a sip of water, had just sprayed it all over Tomoyo's face. There was stunned silence as Eriol struggled to keep a straight face, Tomoyo just blinked through all the water, and I blushed wildly. 

Mu Han said lightly, "I'll—just—take that as a no,' then." 

"No," Syaoran confirmed dryly. 

I couldn't even look at him. 

Eriol, hiding a smile, checked to make sure no one was watching and snapped his fingers. The water vanished, and Tomoyo blinked. "Sakura, next time I need watering, you'll be the first to know."

"Oh, thanks," I retorted sarcastically, my face red as the fans on the wall. 

__

Red. Devil. Satan!

"Oh!" I sat up a little straighter. "I know why they're trying to kill us!"

__

"What?!"

"I know why! They think I'm Satan and that you guys are all demons or something!"

"Someone's trying to _kill_ you guys?!" Mu Han asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "They think I'm the Devil."

There was silence, and then Syaoran said, "But wouldn't they think Eriol's Satan? It makes more sense than—"

"I'll get Nakuru," Tomoyo interrupted. "I _will._ No fighting."

"Ooh, that's harsh." I whistled appreciatively. 

"Nakuru?" Mu Han inquired. 

"Ruby Moon," Eriol explained. "The false form of one of my guardians." 

"That bad?" Mu Han looked skeptical.

"Think Kero on speed," I told him. "Syaoran told you about Kero, right?"

"The living stuffed animal?" 

"That's him."

The door swung open, and a long line of waiters marched out, each laden with a tray. My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, and I heard a crash that meant Yamazaki had started a lie again and Chiharu had set him straight.' 

"Not bad," I breathed. "Maybe _I_ should try being the leader of a clan."

"I suggest you go to the Magic District of Hong Kong." Mu Han grinned. "I believe the most common threat a mother uses is Knock it off or I'll get the Card Mistress.'"

I buried my face in my hands. "Oh, spiffy, I'm giving little kids nightmares."

"Oh, Syaoran does it all the time," Eriol said brightly. 

Tomoyo elbowed him. "I'll get her! I swear, I will! _Don't_ push me!"

"I was kidding!" he said hastily. "Kidding!"

"Good," she muttered.

Muffled screams and thumps made me look towards the windows, where hundreds of girls were trying to get a look at Syaoran. If I tried, I could pick out—barely—what some of them were shrieking.

"SIGN MY SHIRT!"

"SIGN MY SHOE!"  
"SIGN MY ASS!"

The last one came out clearer than most, and Syaoran blushed as we all laughed ourselves sick. "I h-h-hope you aren't going t-to carry th-through," I gasped in between bursts of laughter. 

"I think I'll pass," he said weakly, his face somewhat pale. 

It was, ironically, Eriol who came up with the solution.

We could still hear the girls outside, even after Ha Sing had drawn the curtains. And we all knew what would happen the minute he walked outside: Syaoran would be assaulted by what we referred to as The Swarm.' 

"But what," Eriol said wickedly, "would happen if they thought he wasn't—well—available?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked stupidly.

"What if they thought he already had a girlfriend?" 

"Well, that would make sense," I admitted thoughtfully. "No girl hits on a guy that's already takenBut who would do it?"

There was pointed silence, and Tomoyo, Mu Han, and Eriol all were staring at me. 

"D-Do I have something on my face?" I asked confusedly.

"YOU!" Tomoyo yelled. 

"Um" I edged away. _I have **myself **on my face? I am **so** confused_

"Sakura, let's try it this way," Eriol said slowly, like he was explaining this to a three-year-old. "You're the only one of us who is not only female but single, and while pretending to be gay _would_ send those girls off, I don't think it really would help my dear descendant and it would make a lot of men very happy, getting almost the same effect." 

"And so?" I asked, totally unsuspecting.

"And so _you_ should—er—pretend to be his girlfriend." 

__

"WHAT?!"

"Now, Eriol, you shouldn't scare her like that," admonished Mu Han. "I mean, the thought of having to pretend to be Xiao Lang's girlfriend _is_ pretty disturbing."

"It makes sense," Eriol returned. "And it won't kill either of them."

I tried to say something, but my voice wouldn't work.

"Yes" Mu Han rubbed his chin. "Yesbut you need to make it look official" He jumped to his feet and bolted to the kitchen, and a moment later, Ha Sing came out.

"Mu Han says you two are dating," she said cheerfully.

I had taken another sip of water, trying to calm my nerves. This, too, was sprayed all over Tomoyo.

"They're pretend-dating," she explained, blotting her face with a napkin. "So the girls outside will leave him alone."

I wanted to argue that I'd never agreed to it in the first place, but my voice still wasn't working. 

__

And this is one of the best opportunities you've ever had, another voice argued. _Just go along with it, Sakura, and things could turn very interesting._

Ha Sing motioned for me to stand up. "Mu Han, take care of Xiao Lang," she ordered, pulling me away. "I will take care of Miss Kinomoto."

I was led into the kitchen—"This is Sakura Kinomoto, Card Mistress"—where the cooks all bowed low to me, through a doorway, and up a staircase, into an elaborately decorated room.

"Come," the old woman said, beckoning with a gnarled hand. She carefully lowered herself into a kneeling position in front of a trunk, and I knelt beside her, feeling shabby in my tank and jeans. "If anyone asks, your name is Ying Fa," she said briskly. 

"Ying Fa?" I asked. "What does that mean?"

"It's Sakura—cherry blossom—in Mandarin," she answered. There was a pause as she swallowed, her eyes suddenly bright. "And the name of my daughter. She died in a car accident, with her husband. That's why Mu Han lives with me." 

"I—I'm so sorry," I said, stunned.

"It's alright," she said suddenly. Turning to face me, she said with a small smile, "You are much like her." There was a click as the key slid into the ancient lock and the lid swung open.

My eyes widened. "Wow" Inside was a small fortune in old silk dresses, each more beautiful than the last. "These are amazing!"

"They were Ying Fa's when she was your age," Ha Sing said wistfully, taking another look at me. "Yes, you are very much like her." Turning back to the dresses, she lifted a green one embroidered in what looked like threads of pure silver out and held it up. "This one, this one will work," she muttered. Handing it to me—I nearly dropped it, I was so surprised—she pointed to a door. "Change quickly."

"Into _this?_" I gasped. "I—I can't! It's too nice!" 

"Nothing is too nice for the Card Mistress," she said dryly. "Now you must hurry. I need to fix your hair."

"But—!"

"No buts," she interrupted firmly, getting to her feet. "Go." 

I reluctantly got up and went to the door, which proved to be a small powder room. It took longer than usual for me to get it on, because I was doing my best not to tear any of it. Ying Fa had been almost the exact same size as me, so it fit wonderfully. 

I nervously stepped outside, and Ha Sing turned around. She smiled when she saw me, then said briskly, "Come, we must do something with your hair." I gingerly sat down on the stool she gestured to, and watched the mirror as she neatly twisted my hair into two buns and tied them with green and silver ribbons. "There." Thrusting a pair of slippers into my hands, she hustled off to a corner and came back with a bag just as I got the second one on.

"Won't I look a little overdressed?" I asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "This is actually a five-star restaurant. Had Master Li not come, we wouldn't have opened until seven o'clock."

"Oh," I said weakly. 

My clothes went in the bag; a small handbag was handed to me; and I was ready to go. 

Or at least, I looked ready to go. Actually going was another matter entirely. 

She smiled again when she saw me. "You look just like my Ying Fa," she said with a tiny hint of sadness. "Syaoran is a very lucky boy."

"We're only pretending," I said weakly, feeling my stomach churn. 

"Ah, yes," she said loftily, as if she somehow knew much more than I did as she walked over to the door. "Although it would be a very fine thing if the leader of the Li Clan was married to someone who has much magic as well." She vanished down the stairs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as I rushed after her. 

"That the leader of the Li Clan is both wise and a fool," she answered, her tone wry. 

"What? I don't get it."

"You will some day. Now come."

__

I seem to be doing a lot of coming, I thought irately as I followed her. _Wait a second—much magic—_

DOES SHE MEAN I SHOULD MARRY SYAORAN?!

Oh my GOD!!!!

My face burning, I tried to keep up with her and we came to another door. She knocked swiftly, and Mu Han's voice answered, "Okay, come in."

She opened the door and all but pushed me into what looked like a foyer. And my eyes landed on—

Syaoran.

"Um—h-h-h-hi," I stammered. Meanwhile, my mind was screaming, _OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD._

Somehow, someway, Mu Han had managed to wrestle Syaoran into a tuxedo. In fact, he'd even gotten a bow tie on him.

I knew I was going to pass out.

"Y-y-you look nice," I added in the following silence. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mu Han and Ha Sing exchange triumphant looks. 

"Y-Y-You look n-nice t-too," he replied. 

I could have sworn that my face was ready to burst into a violent fireball, just like someone nuking the Taliban, and I couldn't think of a single thing to say. 

Ha Sing broke the silence, and I was infinitely grateful to her. "Come, we must return to the restaurant, or your friend—the reincarnation of Master Clow—will have brought the chairs to life and sent them to find us."

"No arguments there," I said ruefully. "Lead the way." 

Mu Han marched out, and Ha Sing waited for us to go out. When I got out the doorway alone, she snorted and clucked her tongue. "No, no, no, you must act as if you _are_ dating or those hyenas outside will eat you alive, Xiao Lang!" She bustled over, towing him over by his sleeve, and scowled at him. "And her name for the night is Ying Fa, so that the reporters do not jump all over _her_ hide as well. Now _you_ hold your arm like this—" she yanked his arm to the side "—and _you_ take it—" she seized my arm and put it through his "—and _that_ is how it is done." 

I was closer to fainting on the spot than I'd ever been in my entire life. And I couldn't stop blushing, which must have clashed horridly with a green dress. 

"Now come!" She strode down the hall. 

"UhLook, Sakura," Syaoran started uncertainly.

I knew what he was going to say. "It's okay, I don't mind or anything," I assured him. _Just act like you're being really, **really** friendly, and it'll be fine. Oh yeah, and I need to breath. Breathing. Good. Sakura like breathing._

Oh dear god, I am truly screwed.

Act. Act. You can act, Sakura. Remember? You hit the part of Prince Charming head on.

And you almost kissed Syaoran.

DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT! DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

"Besides, if it gets those girls to go away, I'll do anything," I joked. "Does that always happen in Hong Kong?"

"There's a reason I stay in Tomoeda," he said tonelessly. 

"You like the bakery?" 

He laughed. "Not exactly."

"Then why, other than not being stalked by sociopath teenage girls?"

"Because you're—" He paused, then continued. "—you're getting all those challenges, and I don't trust Eriol."

"Good point," I laughed. 

"Xiao Lang and Ying Fa, save the flirting for outside, when you will need it," Ha Sing's voice called. "And do not say that you were not flirting, for that was very much flirting."

My face burned, and I think Syaoran was mad because his face got kinda red too. "We _weren't!" _I protested. 

"Of course not," she said in that tone that screamed Not only do I know you're lying but I also know something you don't know and I will NEVER EVER tell you.'

Oh, how I hated that tone.

"Now come! If you do not move faster, your friend will have the glasses tap-dancing on the ceiling!"

"Too true," Syaoran consented. "I don't want to think about what Eriol's capable of." 

"Neither do I," I agreed. "Neither do I." 

We came to a set of doors, and Ha Sing pushed them open, then practically shoved both of us through.

Silence; and then Tomoyo started clapping at the same time Eriol went into a coughing fit that barely disguised laughter. An elbow in his ribs shut him up, and people started clapping too. 

"L-let's sit down," I stuttered. 

"Y-yeah." We quickly returned to our seats, and I knew you could have fried an egg on my face with little difficulty once more. 

"So," Eriol said cordially, "when's the wedding?"

There was a thud as I kicked him under the table. "Shut _up,"_ I growled through clenched teeth. 

"We're ready to go if you are," Tomoyo said casually. "Ms. Tsu won't take our money."

"I'm not surprised," Syaoran muttered. 

"Well, let's get this over with," I said reluctantly. "Where's a grenade launcher when you need one, huh?" The thought of taking a firearm like that to the mob of shrieking girls made me laugh a little. Knowing them, they'd drag themselves after him. 

"You're telling me," he muttered. 

"You're leaving?" Ha Sing rushed over. "Remember what I told you! Arm in arm! Don't slouch! And for goodness sake, don't do anything that would make it look like you _aren't_ dating! Act like you are! And smile! Now go!" She hauled me and him to our feet and dragged us to the door, wrapped my arm around his as I blushed, and yet again all but threw us through the door.

I barely had time to put a nice smile on my face before we were assaulted. 

"Your Highness!"

"What brings you to America, Prince Xiao Lang?"

"Who's your girlfriend?"

"What's your name, miss?"

Flashbulbs burst in my eyes, and microphones were thrust in both of our faces. 

__

Is this what it's like to be famous?

"That's not his girlfriend!" 

The high, whiny voice carried clearly over the reporter's shouts, and everyone turned to look at who had shouted. 

It was one of the girls who'd been camping out in front of Ha Sing's restaurant. She glared at me, pointing an accusing finger. "She isn't his girlfriend!"

"Aw, now that's not a very nice thing to say," said a friendly-looking reporter. She wasn't one of the ones nearly sticking her microphone up my nose; instead, she was holding back somewhat. "What's your name?"

"It's—um—Ying Fa," I answered, praying Touya wasn't going to see any photographs from this particular little incident. 

"Are you dating?" she asked.

I blushed wildly but managed to choke out, "Y-yes."

The woman smiled. "Your English is very good. How did you learn it?"

"I—I studied it for the past few years after school."

"I see. How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen."

"Are you really dating, or is this some kinda hoax?" a male reporter yelled, his cigarette bouncing. 

"Yeah!"

"We need some proof!"

__

I don't like this

"Yeah! Kiss her!" another guy yelled. 

There was a horrified collective gasp from the groupies, stationed behind the reporters. I heard several sobs. 

"Kiss her!"

"Yeah!"

They started taking up the chant, and in a moment, there were dozens of people surrounding us and shouting kiss her!' at Syaoran. 

I was so close to dying of humiliation that it wasn't funny. And even worse, the words of Ha Sing were ringing in my mind: _" For goodness sake, don't do anything that would make it look like you **aren't **dating!"_ And refusing to kiss my boyfriend' would look awfully suspicious

__

Oh my god

"Umm" I began nervously, then realized I couldn't say anything in front of the reporters. "Well," I started again, my voice oddly high, "okay then."

And I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Syaoran, right on the lips, which was something I never would have done willingly before. 

He kissed me back [AN: The sugar—can't—hold it any longer, captain! runs to the bathroom and throws up] and I could have died on the spot for what I was doing to him. It had to be acting on his part, it _had_ to be, because Ha Sing had said we needed to act like we really were dating, and My trail of thoughts dissolved, as I had something that was much more important to think about at the moment. 

__

Syaoran

[AN: paramedics run un She's gone into a diabetic coma from too much sugar! Get her to the hospital _now!_] 

"Awwww" The reporters all sighed in the Isn't that _adorable?'_ way. 

He pulled me closer—_He's acting, Sakura! ACTING!!!_—and my heart pounded frantically. There was so much blood rushing to my head that I just _knew_ I was going to faint, and soon. Fireworks were going off in my mind, although that could have been the flashbulbs, and I found myself thinking how nice it would be if he actually liked me. 

__

Just think of it as being friends with benefits right now, Sakura, or you're going to pass out in front of the reporters and that won't be very good.

Oh my god, I'm actually being kissed by Syaoran

"How long have you been going out?"

"Any plans for the future?"

"What does your family think of this, Your Highness?"

"Where do you come from, Ying Fa?"

I would have adored to simply ignore them, but getting out of here having answered the least amount of questions was a must. We slowly broke apart, and I stared at the ground, flushing. 

"Excuse me," I heard a familiar voice say. "I can answer for Ying Fa. I'm her publicist."

__

Tomoyo, you are a **god.**

"How long have they been dating?"

"I'd sayoh, maybe two weeks."

"Where does Ying Fa come from?"

"Her family is from Hong Kong, but they've been out of the country for most of her life. In fact"

I was infinitely grateful for the fact that Tomoyo not only looked like a professional—and an adult—but that she was also an accomplished liar. 

"Maybe we should get Yamazaki in here for this," I muttered.

"No," Syaoran said in my ear, sending a shiver up my back, "he'd tell them that you recently came out of a coma and have amnesia." 

"Too true." I tried to cover a laugh. "Or something even worse. And Naoko"

"She'd say you're an alien from outer space, and we found you in Roswell." 

"Or maybe I'm the reincarnation of Cleopatra."

"Or a chinchilla turned human."

"I could be Princess Diana's long-lost younger sister."

"A baby lost in the woods, raised by the wolves."

"Or maybe I'm Satan."

"No, that's Eriol."

I laughed, feeling oh-so-slightly dizzy from being in such close proximity to him. 

"Excuse me?"

We both looked up to find a friendly-looking man in front of us. "Yes?" I asked politely.

"I'm from the Marriott Hotel. It would be an honor to have you—and your classmates—stay with us."

"Um" I wasn't quite sure what to say. The Marriott wasn't exactly a Motel Six, and putting up thirty peopleCould I take advantage of an offer like this? 

"Free of charge," he added hastily.

I wasn't too sure, and Syaoran didn't look too decisive either, but Mr. Terada inadvertently cinched the deal. 

"What? We had thirty rooms reserved! What do you mean, there's no room?"

I smiled nervously. _I guess you get a lot of free stuff when you're famous._ "Uh, sure, why not?"

"The taxis will be here shortly," he said cheerfully. 

"XIAO LANG!!! MARRY ME!!!"

One of the girls had nearly gotten past the police barrier. I blinked, surprised. "No wonder you stay in Tomoeda."

"Princess Ying Fa! How about one more kiss for the camera?"

__

Princess?

Okay, Tomoyo, maybe you **aren't** a god

"Yeah! 

And then they all started up the Kiss her!' deal again. Some jerk started belting out the song One Last Kiss' from _Bye Bye Birdie._ [AN: I was in that play! ^_^ It was so much fun] 

I would have looked at him, but my face would have turned even redder, so that made the chances of looking at him null. 

__

Well, like Ha Sing said

"Don't do anything that would make it look like you **aren't** dating!"

Gathering the crumbled remains of my courage, I looked up and we locked eyes. For a moment, I couldn't speak, lost in the pools of amber. 

And then I found my voice, and blurted out the first thing I thought of. Which, coincidentally, was something I never thought I'd say. 

"Go on, kiss me." 

Eriol went into another one of his coughing' fits, and Tomoyo clapped. "Score, Sa—Ying Fa!"

Syaoran looked about as pained as it got, switching back to speaking Japanese. "Sakura, I am so sorry—"

"What's he saying?" someone yelled, cutting him off.

"I dunno, it's Japanish!" his cameraman yelled back.

I was very glad that the reporters didn't understand. "Well," I managed to get out, _"I_ am_ not."_ And I kissed him again.

Where on _earth_ had all this confidence come from? All I could do was pray that he still thought I was acting.

And yet again, there was a collective "Awwww" from the crowd. 

[AN: AAAAAHHH!!!! IT'S RICKY GLASSY-ASS!!! Okay, I know his real name is Enrique Iglesias, but stillshudder BURN HIS CD!!! SAVE YOURSELVES, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!! takes sledgehammer to the radio] 

I could feel his fingertips against my face [AN: The sugarthe sugarAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH] and was amazed by his acting skills. 

"DIE, BITCH! DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEE!!!!"

The same whiny girl who'd claimed I wasn't really his girlfriend had forced her way past the barriers. As we broke apart, startled, she threw herself at me. 

And, as a result, sent both Syaoran and I head over heels. And, as a result of _that,_ when I managed to wrench my eyes open, I found myself staring down into deep brown eyes, our faces so close I didn't even want to think about what would happen if I slipped more than an inch. 

And I nearly fainted. 

To this day, I have never blushed harder than that night, when the girl had tackled me and I'd fallen on top of Syaoran. 

And, of all the times to experience total paralysis, it was now. I could not move—and didn't move—whatsoever. 

The funny thing was, neither did he. 

There was a flurry of bright flashes as cameras went off, and I cursed in my mind. Touya was going to kill me the minute I got off the plane.

__

Wait—no—he's going to kill Syaoran. That's worse.

Police were hauling the girl away as I sat up, shaking my head. Syaoran got to his feet and offered me a hand, and I took it, attempting not to blush—_He's holding my hand!!!_—and failing as I staggered to my feet, dusting myself off.

"Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly. 

"F-f-fine," I stammered. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." He brushed a hair away from my face—_ACTING!!! HE IS **ACTING,** SAKURA!!!_—and I nearly fainted for the umpteenth time that day. 

"Get in the taxi," Tomoyo sighed. "Just get in the taxi."

I was all too happy to comply.

I held the phone as far away from my ear as it could get. And yet, I could still hear Touya's voice just fine.

For the news hadn't taken long to go international. I was seated, cross-legged, on the bed in the room I had, and staring at the receiver with amazement while Tomoyo tried to stifle giggles—she'd come to the doorway just as Touya had called. I hadn't known he could swear like this

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU **THINKING?**" he demanded. "YOU'RE LUCKY DAD'S ON THE EXCAVATION, OR HE'D BE HAVING A GOD DAMN **HEART ATTACK!" **

"Touya, calm down—"

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" he bellowed. "DO YOU REALIZE THAT THE CLIPS OF **THAT BRAT RAMMING HIS TONGUE DOWN YOUR THROAT** ARE ALL OVER INTERNATIONAL NEWS?!" 

I turned red. "Shut _up,_ Touya! Didn't you see all those girls?"

"YES! HE COULD HAVE CHOSEN ONE OF **THEM!"**

"No he couldn't have! He needed someone who could at least pretend to be royalty and that he knew!"

There was a crunch on the other side of the line, and Touya muttered a few very rude expletives. "Yukito just dropped his lunch bag on the table and one of the legs broke. Hold on," he instructed. "And for god's sake, stay away from that brat!"

"HE IS NOT A BRAT!" I yelled.

No response, and then another voice came on. "Hey, Sakura," Yukito said cheerfully. 

"Hi, Yukito!"

"Just saw you on CNN. You looked good."

"Thanks." I switched the phone to my other hand. "Could you tell Touya that I was doing it so those girls wouldn't trample Syaoran? He's acting like I went Full-Monty in front of millions of viewers."

"Full-Monty?"

I coughed. "From the movie. It's another term for flashing someone."

"Oh. Yeah, you're right. He's talking to himself in the kitchen, which means he's definitely ready to kill something."

"What's he saying?"

"Something about a brat, torture, and a hot poker."

"Well, tell him if he gets within ten feet of Syaoran I'll fry him."

"Can do. Oh, Kero wants to talk to you."  
"Okay, put him on."

"Right. Hang in there, Sakura. _I_ think you looked good, and Touya won't admit it, but he does too. Told you you'd find someone who really loved you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Yukito?"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT BRAT DOING MAKING OUT WITH YOU?"

I held the phone away from my ear again, wincing as Kero's voice echoed in the room, and Tomoyo hid a grin. 

"Kero, I was doing him a favor."

"YEAH, I NOTICED! THAT BRAT'S ALWAYS WANTED FAVORS LIKE **THAT** FROM YOU! WHY DID YOU EVEN THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT? YOU SHOULD HAVE RUN SCREAMING! WHY DID YOU KISS HIM?"

I snapped. "BECAUSE I **WANTED** TOO, KERO!"

There was stunned silence, and then he asked slowly, _"What?"_

"You heard me," I said, faltering at first but gaining more confidence as I went on. "Yeah, you heard me. I wanted to kiss him." When silence met my words, I continued. "I love him, Kero, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He paused, then slowly said, "I should have known"

"Should have known what?" I asked suspiciously. 

"That you'd really fall for him sooner or later." He sighed. "Well, you looked good, Sakura." There was a sniffle, and then a hideous sound as he blew his nose. "My little girl's growing up"

"Are you _crying?"_ I couldn't believe it; Kero never cried.

"Yeah," he said thickly. "Well, Sakura, there's nothing I can do about itSorry, I gotta go give Suppi his sugar dosageTouya wants to talk to you."

"Okay." I shook my head incredulously. 

"Kero, what's wrong with you?" I heard Yukito ask.

"She—she's in love with him," he sobbed. "Our little girl's growing up"

"Oh, jeez," I muttered. 

"WHAT?! GIMME THE PHONE **NOW!!!"**

__

Oh no

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HIM?! WHY WOULD YOU **SAY** SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HUH?"  
"Why do you _think,_ Touya?"

__

"I don't know! Maybe you're drunk! I'm hoping you've been drunk since you stepped out of that restaurant!"

"Fine. Think what you want, Touya. I love him and there isn't anything you can do. If you want to talk rationally, you can call me _later._" I slammed the phone down and leaned against the wall, exhausted. "Hoeee"

"Well, that was very kawaii," Tomoyo said happily, finding herself a chair to sit in. "I can think of a few people who would like to see that." She patted the camera. 

I closed my eyes. "Tomoyo"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Syaoran

I dropped my bags with a thud and flopped down on the bed, then switched on the television. Nothing was on, but I could hear a muffled conversation on the other side of the wall, although the TV was just loud enough that I couldn't understand what was being said. It did sound, however, as if someone was shouting. 

Bored, I switched the television off in time to hear Sakura say all too clearly, "I love him, Kero, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Her words hit me like a punch in the face, and I froze. The remote control slipped out of my hand and dropped to the floor, forgotten. 

"Should have known what?" A pause. "Are you _crying?"_ Another pause. "OkayOh, jeez." 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HIM?! WHY WOULD YOU **SAY** SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HUH?"

I swallowed and looked down. She was in love with someone else?  
"Why do you _think,_ Touya?"

__

"I don't know! Maybe you're drunk!"

Closing my eyes, I switched the television back on in an attempt to block it out, then turned it back off half-heartedly. 

"I love him and there isn't anything you can do. If you want to talk rationally, you can call me _later._" There was a click and a "Hoeee" and then the conversation got too quiet for me to hear any more. 

__

I got up, then sat back down, then got up again and paced around the room, running a hand through my hair. She _had_ been acting, the whole time. I knew she was a good actor, but part of me couldn't help hoping she hadn't been pretending. _I_ hadn't had to act like I was in love with her; it was too late for that. 

I had never been more depressed in my entire life. It felt like everything in the world had turned gray and distant.

__

I am **so** tempted to become an underage drinker right now that it isn't even funny

The phone rang, and I picked it up wearily. "Syaoran Li." 

"Hello, Xiao Lang."

I straightened automatically. "Fah Ren?"

"Yes, Xiao Lang. I thought I'd call you to tell you that the Elders were not pleased."

"I wasn't expecting them to be," I replied dryly. 

"I take it Ha Sing had a hand in this?"

I sighed and stood, going outside. "The bus broke down in front of Chinatown, and it went crazy the minute I got out of the bus. There wasn't anything I could do." 

"I should hope not. And what was this with Sakura? Since when do you date the most powerful sorceress on earth?"

"The Elders got pissed over that, didn't they?"

"Oh, no, Xiao Lang," she said sarcastically. "No, they were just peachy over the sight of the leader of the Li Clan frenching an unknown girl."

"Did they know it was Sakura?"

"No, her friend did a good job. All we know is that she's related to the Japanese Emperor—that's where the princess deal comes in—that she was born in Hong Kong, and she's been out of the country for most of her life. Tell Ms. Daidouji she probably saved your relationship, because if the Elders knew she really wasn't of any noble birth—as far as we know—she would have been assassinated by now. You're going to want to look into her family tree before the press finds out who she really is, Xiao Lang, or she's going to be in a considerable amount of danger."

"She already is," I said heavily. "And we aren't dating or anything. That was just an idea Tomoyo had to get the groupies off my back."

"You certainly looked friendly enough, Xiao Lang. And what do you mean, she's in danger?"

"Some nutcases out there decided that she's Satan and Tomoyo, Eriol, and I are almost as bad, so they have to kill us all, but Sakura in particular. They've already nearly killed her twice." 

"Then be careful. Oh, Mother wants to talk to you."

"Fine. Talk to you later." 

"Ta-ta, Wolfy!"

I heaved a sigh. _I **hate** that nickname_

"Xiao Lang?"

"Hello, Mother."

"You failed to mention that you were in love with the Card Mistress, Xiao Lang."

"That was because nothing could have come out of it, Mother. And that was all acting, so those girls would leave me alone."

"I see" She was using that tone I hated so much, the one that said Keep it coming, Pinocchio, your nose is too short anyway, and by the way I know something you don't know.'

"She loves someone else, Mother," I said heavily. "I heard it with my own ears, and it was less than five minutes ago, so I would say that it _was _all acting."

"Oh—Xiao Lang—Are you—"

"I'm fine, Mother." I leaned on the railing. "I'll get over it."

"But"

I shrugged, even though she couldn't see, and stared out at the bay in the distance. "She doesn't feel the same way. I'll live."

"Well" Mother began. "Xiao Lang, you never know. You could have misheard."

"I don't think so—"

"Have you watched the news?" she interrupted. "There is something between you two, Xiao Lang, and you can deny it all you want, but I can see it and so can everyone else."

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura," I said harshly. _"Nothing."_

"You'll see it, Xiao Lang, and you'll regret not telling her sooner." Her tone had turned to the monotone sound of prophecy—her Foresight magic was working through her. "And you will regret your words." 

"What do you mean?" 

"What?" There was a pause. "Oh, did I See something?" 

"Yeah," I said distractedly. "Yeah, you did. Mother, it's really late over here, so I'm going to bed."

"Very well, Xiao Lang. Good night."

"Good night." I hit the off' button and went back inside, having no intention whatsoever of going to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

[AN: If you think it couldn't get any worse, think again, mí amigo.]

I stood up, not tired in the least, and quietly pushed the sliding door open. It moved almost silently, and I stepped out onto the balcony. 

And a familiar voice caught my ear.

"I don't think so—" Syaoran cut off, and I backed up before I overheard too much. He had to be talking to his mother; I couldn't imagine him calling anyone else.

And then his next words hit me like a ton of bricks.

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

Oh—oh—oh my god—

I managed to numbly go back inside and close the door quietly behind me before completely crumbling.

__

I mean nothing to him? Nothing—nothing whatsoever?

The pain was almost too much. I wanted to die.

And it was understandable; hearing the person you loved more than anything in the world say that you meant nothing to him wasn't exactly a good thing. 

Tears rolled down my face, and I crawled onto the bed, then crept under the sheets, still crying. _All those times—when I thought—maybe, maybe he liked me like that—that I was more than that to him—and he was just being nice—oh my god_

The worst part was that I was still in love with him.

I buried my face in the pillow and completely collapsed. 

When I woke up in the morning, at first I didn't remember what had happened. I remembered having kissed Syaoran the night before; remembered having that girl send us flying; remembered getting into the hotel for free; but I didn't remember that I meant nothing to him. 

I sat up, finding the late morning sun streaming in, and discovered I was still in my clothes from last night. Not the dress, but the jeans and T-shirt I had changed into. 

__

Why on earth would I sleep in my clothes? _When did I fall asleep last night, anyway?_

I reached back, trying to remember—

And, sadly, I did. 

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

Another tear rolled down my face, but I angrily brushed it away and got out of bed. "Screw him," I muttered. "I don't need a guy. I'm fine on my own." 

Pulling some casual clothes out of my suitcase, I showered and dressed, then pulled my hair into a half ponytail and went outside. There were no reporters, which was good, because I would have told them we'd broken up. 

There was a nice café on the bottom level, and I saw some of my classmates sitting around the table. Ignoring them, I bought a muffin and a bottle of orange juice, then stalked off to a seat by the window and stared balefully out at the street. 

A couple walked by, holding hands and looking blissful. I scowled. 

A girl chased a boy down the sidewalk, giggling wildly while the boy yelled something about girl-germs and cooties. 

I viciously bit into my muffin and chewed, moving my gaze to the door nearby so I wouldn't have to watch any more happy couples. 

An elderly pair walked in, gazing dotingly at each other. 

__

GOD **DAMN** IT! I AM SO SICK OF THIS LOVE CRAP!

But you still love Syaoran.

THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THE POINT IS THAT—THAT—

THE POINT IS THAT **LOVE STINKS!**

I moved to the chair on the other side of the table, only to be confronted with even more of the Hormone Festival. 

Eriol flirted shamelessly at Tomoyo, and she giggled and blushed. Chiharu was happily strangling Yamazaki. And Naoko was deep in discussion with some boy over the parallels of _Star Wars_ and _Star Trek._

It was enough to make me sick.

I sullenly rested my head on the table, miserable. 

__

And I bet Syaoran's having the time of his life with some nice young girl who really **is** a princess

I think I'm going to cry again

Hold on, Sakura. Remember the last time you weren't quite as genki' as usual? _Rika was so happy to see you back to normal that she made you cookies. People were thrilled to have you back in the classroom. If **you're** unhappy, **they're** unhappy, and it isn't fair for them to be upset over your issues._

So I don't even have a right to be sad?

No, you have the right to be sad, but you **don't** have the right to make everyone else sad. That means you can be sad all you want, but you can't show it.

Life was not fair, because I knew the chiding voice in my head was right. The popular phrase in our school was If Sakura's upset, _then_ you're screwed.' 

So I couldn't even be sad anymore.

__

You know, maybe I shouldn't even be upset. After all, it's not like things changed between Syaoran and I—we're still friends, like we were before. I'll just act like I didn't hear anything, and it'll be like normal.

But will it ever be really normal for me? I mean, I know **I** love him, even if he doesn't feel the same way about me

But he can never know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tomoyo, dearest," Eriol said dryly, "I believe there is trouble in paradise."

"And what makes you say that?" she returned. "The fact that Syaoran Li looked like he hadn't slept in three days when he dragged his sorry carcass down here? The fact that Sakura Kinomoto glared at anything that came in twos? Or is it just the flowers?"

"Well, I didn't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth," he started seriously, and she lightly smacked him.

"So you noticed too. What do you think is going on? I'd say they had a fight, but Syaoran would never do anything to hurt Sakura." She took a deep sip of her Caramel Macchiatto. "God bless Starbucks."

He leaned on the table, deep in thought. "Like you said, I thought they'd fought at first, but it doesn't quite seem like that." He paused a moment. "Maybe it's misinterpretation."

"She heard something the wrong way?" Her eyes lit up. "That would make sense, because _nothing_ could make her un-genki like that unless it had to do with Syaoran."

"And he's gotta have some kind of reason for being mad." He thought for a moment. "So what do we do?"

"What we do, dear, is find out what went wrong and fix it." She stole his muffin and took a bite out of it as he grinned. "I will deal with Sakura, and _you_ will find out what happened with Syaoran. Not hard at all."

He shuddered. "Easy for you to say. My descendant would rather set me on fire than talk to me." 

"Well, then, carry a fire extinguisher." She stood. "Enjoy your little chat."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

I was hot. 

It was winter in California, and I was _hot._

Something was seriously wrong with this scenario.

__

Fine. I'll find the pool.

Scowling, I pulled out a swimsuit and my towel and stalked away, slamming the door behind me as I did so.

[AN: Here come the lyrics! YAAAAAYYY!!! And if you're wondering why I'm so sickeningly cheerful, despite the fact that this a terribly sad part, I suggest that you consider for a moment who you're dealing with. Yeah, JadeWing. I _thrive_ on terribly sad parts! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!]

**__**

Of all the things I believed in

I just want to get it over with

The hallway seemed long and empty, like my heart. Oh, I could pretend I was happy, I was cheerful, I was the usual sunny Sakura, but insideInside, it felt like there was a giant hole where my heart should have been. And oh, did it hurt.

**__**

Tears form behind my eyes

But I do not cry

Counting the days that pass me by

I felt old. Old, tired, wearyI wanted to go home, curl up in my bed, and just sleep my life away.

**__**

I've been searching deep down in my soul

Words that I'm hearing

Are starting to get old

How long had I spent being in love with him? A year? No, twono, actually, I realized, on Christmas Day it would be three years. Three years of my life, chasing a dream that would always stay a dream.

**__**

It feels like I'm starting all over again

The last three years were just pretend

And I said,

I slammed a fist into the wall, the pain too much for me to bear. _That's it. I need to let golet go_

****

Goodbye to you

Goodbye to everything I thought I knew

You were the one I loved

The one thing that I tried to hold on to

Yeah. I managed to keep walking, somehow. _Yeah. Goodbye. Goodbye to him. I'm done. I loved him, there's nothing between us, that's it. Finité. I'll survive._

Won't I?

Yes. I **will** survive. I don't need anyone to keep me going. I can live on my own.

I reached the pool and went into the women's locker room, which was dazzlingly white and clean. Changing quickly, I showered, then went out.

The pool was still and empty. I dove in, sending ripples across the surface of the water, and surfaced, feeling the cool water slide over my skin. 

__

When was the last time I went swimming?

The beach. With Syao—

Right. Enough. I scowled and swam over to the edge of the pool, resting my arms on the ledge and my chin on them. Swimming was nice, but it didn't do anything but temporarily ease the pain. 

__

I can't let him know that I'm upset. He'll want to know why, and I can't tell him that.

Well, screw him! I don't need him! I don't need **anybody!** I am just **spifferiffic** on my **own!**

The door opened behind me and Tomoyo walked in, followed by Eriol and—

I stared, unable to tear my gaze away from him.

**__**

I still get lost in your eyes

And it seems that I can't live a day without you

I turned away and tried to sound cheerful. "Hi, guys."

**__**

Closing my eyes and you chase my thoughts away

To a place where I am blinded by the light

Syaoran

No! Leave him alone! Your problems are **your** problems, **not** his!

****

But it's not right

Goodbye to you

"I was just—uh—going," I lied, pulling myself out. "I'll see you guys later." 

**__**

Goodbye to everything I thought I knew

You were the one I loved

The one thing that I tried to hold on to

Everything was so strangeNothing made sense anymore. It was as if my entire world was crumbling, everything stable dissolving to sand under my frantic grasp. Everything I thought I knew seemed to be a lie, seemed to be gone. 

Funny, it was, how I could nearly go into a nervous breakdown over one person. But I was. 

__

I don't want to be like this! I just want things to be like they were before, where I didn't know how he felt, and I could at least pretend

But do I? Do I really want that—or the truth?

****

And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time

I want what's yours

And I want what's mine

Oh, what I would give to be the person he loved

__

Sakura, get **over** it! You need to wake up and smell the cow pie! [AN: I don't quite know where that analogy came from. Probably because I love coffee, and so saying wake up and smell the coffee' wouldn't be a _bad_ thing to do, but waking up and smelling the cow pie would.] _He doesn't feel the same way! Quit moping around and forget about him!_

****

I want you

But I'm not giving in this time

[AN: I _love_ this song! And I highly recommend the album! MICHELLE BRANCH KICKS **ASSSSS!!!!**]

**__**

Goodbye to you

Goodbye to everything I thought I knew

You were the one I loved

The one thing that I tried to hold on to

That was it. I was done. 

I changed, walked out of the locker room, and went back to hide in my room.

I missed having him. Refusing to admit that to myself wasn't a good thing. I missed him, and I missed the days before, where I could just daydream about what it would be like if we dated, like there was a possibility that he felt the same way. But no, they were gone. 

It was like someone had cut out a piece of me, one that I needed to live

__

But I'm going to live without it.

I let myself in, not slamming the door behind me this time, and flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. I was tired—I hadn't really gotten that much sleep the night before—and yet, I could not sleep. The world was so strange, now. Like someone had plucked all the stars from the midnight sky and scattered them to the four winds.

**__**

And when the stars fall

I will lie awake

You're my shooting star.

Sometimes, Mr. Terada had a horrid sense of timing.

"We're going to the mall!" he announced cheerfully.

I could not have wanted to go to the mall less if I had a live parakeet stapled to my forehead. [AN: Jeez, the analogies here are getting really weirdI'm going to make a journal entry on them! YAAAAYYY!!!!]

And yet, nevertheless, we were all piled into the bus. 

I knew what would happen when we got somewhere public; one reporter would see us and the rest would follow. They'd want to see more pictures of us being all romantic, and while I knew it would hurt, it wouldn't be fair to Syaoran to just stop pretending to be his girlfriend. 

Besides, I was still head-over-heels in love with him, even though I refused to admit it to myself. I acknowledged that it had been fun to daydream about us together; I accepted it had been nice to be with him and wonder if he felt the same way; but I refused to believe I was still in love with him, even though I was. 

I tried not to look at him during the short bus ride. Both of us knew what would be coming, and I'd dressed with a little more care, which made Tomoyo happy, because it was in one of her outfits. 

And, sure enough, the minute I got off the bus, the flashbulbs erupted in my face. 

"Princess Ying Fa!"

"How about a smile, Princess?"

"Do you have any plans for marriage?"

"How did you meet the prince?"

"YING FA!!!"

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Can I have your autograph too?"

"I asked first!" 

"No, I did!"

"When did you first realize you were in love?"

"Smile!"

"How about a kiss?"

Syaoran had come to stand next to me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. 

__

Sakura, knock it off. Do it for him, if not for yourself.

I made myself look up, and he raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, and he mouthed Sorry,' then bent down and kissed me. This time, though, it feltdifferent. Stranger. 

The reporters couldn't tell the difference, however, and yet again, there was a general "Awwww"

"Let's go inside," Tomoyo suggested. I was infinitely grateful to her. She knew, somehow, that things were not what they had been before. 

As soon as we were out of the earshot of the reporters, I asked, "So where did the whole princess' deal come in, Tomoyo?"

"Well," she began, "it's, um, wellSakura, it's true."

__

"What?"

She scratched the back of her head. "The familythe family both our moms come fromwell, um, we're both related to the Emperor, but my mom's a distant cousin and Aunt Nadeshiko was a direct descendant. Her mother was the sister of one of the emperors, so technically, you and Touya are in the line for the throne."

"Y-You w-w-w-weren't m-making it up?"

She shook her head. "No." 

"I-I-I th-think I n-need to sit down," I forced out, stunned. I was really a princess? _Me?_

"There's nothing to worry about," Tomoyo assured me. "You're really far down the line, so unless about thirty people die, including your uncles and aunts and _their_ children, you won't be up on the throne in this life."

"B-b-but _I'm_ a p-princess? Me?"

"Yep."

There was a roaring in my ears, and my knees gave out. 

__

"Sakura!"

I don't know if it was exhaustion that kept me out longer than usual, or if I just wanted a break from the real world. The result, however, was that I was floating in a world of unconscious black. 

Only as the seconds ticked past, I started hearing things. 

__

"descendant, you seemthan usual."

"Whycare?"

"Because when you are upset, I am upset."

__

"Ha, good one, Eriol. Really, why docare?"

"I am woundedwhy?"

__

"Nonebusiness."

"Of coursemy business."

"Youtalk to us." That was Tomoyo

__

"About what?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The voices were getting clearer, and I could hear more. 

__

"Yes you do. What happened?"

"Nothing."

"In case you didn't notice, Sakura's not feeling quite as happy as normal, and that usually means something happened between you two."

"Knock it off, Eriol. I don't want to hear it right now."

"Well, that's too bad." Eriol sounded almost angry. _"You can storm around all you want, but when you're mad, Sakura's upset, and having two grouches in the same group puts everyone **else** in a rotten mood."_

"If Sakura's upset, I sincerely doubt it has anything to do with me."

If only he knew it had everything to do with him

__

"What makes you say that?" Tomoyo, unlike Eriol, sounded calm and patient. _She knows him too well,_ I reflected sadly. 

__

"Because—" he stopped short. 

__

"Because why?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened."

"You, descendant, are a terrible liar."

"You say that because I don't lie half as much as you do."

"No, I say that because you've been pissed off since last night and you're acting like you aren't. And you're doing a bad job of it, I might add."

"Shut up."

"Syaoran, you can't deny that there's something between you two." That was Tomoyo again, her voice persuasive and soothing.

__

"Yeah. It's called friendship."

"He lies," Eriol declared.

__

"Eriol," Tomoyo said warningly. _"Syaoran, why do you think you're just friends?"_

I knew what he was going to say. "There's nothing like that between Sakura and I," that's what he was going to say. And I didn't want to hear it. It hurt enough to hear him telling Eriol and Tomoyo we were just friends—and I was going to strangle them for that too. 

The only thing was, I wanted to hear more. For some reason, he sounded unnerved—like he was hiding something—but what could it be?

__

Was—was he just lying? When he said there was nothing like that between him and I?

Maybe I was jumping to conclusions, or something.

Or maybe you're trying to persuade yourself that he has feelings for you, that caustic voice in my head snapped. 

__

You know, maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong, but I thinkI may have been wrong. _He says things about that Clan of his all the time, and how strict they areso maybe he had to tell them that, so they wouldn't make him leave, or something. Maybe I was wrong._

I think—I think I'm just going to have to wait and see.

I wanted to stay unconscious, so I'd hear more. And so inevitably, I was dragged awake, because things never went quite as I planned. 

My eyes fluttered open, and ironically, the first thing that met my eyes was—

An ad for Gap. 

__

Like Eriol said, I thought ruefully. _Welcome to Corporate America._

"Princess?"

"Don't call me that, Tomoyo," I muttered, clenching my eyes shut again. "I'm tired." I leaned on whatever was supporting me, still tired, and tried to fall back asleep. 

"Sakura, wake up. You're scaring Syaoran."

"Wha?" I forced myself to open my eyes once more. 

"Look up," Tomoyo advised, barely containing laughter. 

__

No. No, no, no, no, no

I looked up, only to find Syaoran looking down at me, worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I could not have blushed any harder. "Y-Yeah, fine. Um—yeah, fine."

__

Oh, crap. I'm making such an ass out of myself!

"Um, thanks," I managed to force out. "W-What happened?"

"She told you that you're a princess," Syaoran said dryly. 

"Oh yeah" I sat up, still red-faced. [AN: munches on chocolate-covered candy cane that's about 8" long and 3/4" wide YummyLeftover stocking candyIt's, um, 12:25 AM. Why am I awake? If I knew, I'd tell you.] 

I was still adjusting to the fact that I was a princess as Tomoyo dragged us all over the mall. She insisted I try on more outfits than usual in what I suspected was an attempt to cheer me up. It failed, but I tried to look happier for her sake. 

We were going down one of the escalators when the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I shivered and turned around, only to find nothing but ordinary people looking bored and descending like I was. 

__

Get a grip, Sakura.

But I still couldn't shake the feeling that—that something—or someone—was watching me. I hoped that when I stepped off the escalator that it would go away, but it didn't. 

Now I was nervous. Usually, a sense like this _meant_ something, and if the past five years had taught me anything, it was to not ignore it.

I hung back, nervous, and took another look around. That was when I saw him.

The man was watching me, and even though we were at least fifty feet apart, somehow I saw him clearly. His eyes were narrowed menacingly, in the gaze of a predator, the steel blue driving into me and boring into my soul. He was on the other side—the mall was round, and shaped like an oval, and I was directly across from him—but as I watched he straightened, then started walking towards me.

"Sakura?" 

Tomoyo's voice faded in my ears; everything faded. I was paralyzed, completely unable to move. 

His eyes never left me as he coldly strode around the perimeter of the walkway. 

An arm went around my shoulders and forced me to turn the other way. "Walk," Syaoran ordered, his voice low and cautious. 

I numbly obeyed, knowing he had seen what I had seen. _Oh my god, I'm going to die_

"I-I don't think we can outrun him, Syaoran, I really don't think we can, I think he's too fast." I realized I was babbling out of fear, but part of me said he understood I was terrified. "I don't want to die," I whispered. "He's going to kill me. They're going to kill me."

"Sakura, I told you before," he said firmly, his voice slightly distracted. "I won't let them."

I swallowed and looked over my shoulder. He was closer and hot on our trail. "He's getting closer, Syaoran. He's going to catch us."

Syaoran glanced back, and his brow furrowed. "Sakura, on the count of three, we run. Okay?" I nodded wordlessly. "One" he shot another look over his shoulder, and didn't turn around. "Two" His eyes widened, and he shouted, _"Run!"_

Fear drove me like never before, and I darted between shoppers, running faster than I'd ever run in my entire life. We shoved past people on the escalator down, ran to the next one, and pushed through the next one, finally reaching street level. 

He was still far too close behind us. 

"Where—are we going—to go?" I panted.

"The street."

I followed him as he shot out the doors, and we came to a halt in front of a parked Honda. We needed a way to get away, and fast, but what?

The man pushed open the door.

"Get in!" Syaoran shouted.

I ran around and unlocked all the doors with a twist of magic as he slid in. The door slammed shut, and there was a rumble as he twisted the keys in the ignition—they'd been inside for some reason. The engine roared to life.

"Syaoran—" I hastily strapped on the seatbelt. "Syaoran—you don't know how to drive!"

He had the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, his face set and determined as he yanked the gear shift back. "I do now," he said grimly. 

There was a crunch as we collided with the car behind us, then shot forward and into the street. "When was the last time you drove a car?" I yelled.

"It can't be that hard, can it?" he yelled back, then cursed.

"What is it?" I asked frantically.

"We're being followed," he said angrily. "Hold on!"

The tires squealed as he wrenched the steering wheel around and we shot up a hill. People dove out of the way, and angry honks filled the air as we narrowly avoided several other cars. 

"You're on the wrong side of the road!" I squeaked.

"I'm on the right!" 

"Exactly!" 

"They drive on the right in America!"

I cringed as we took out several trash cans and bumped up on the curb. Several pedestrians ran screaming, and he swerved to narrowly avoid an old lady with a walker. "Is he still following us?"

Syaoran glanced at the rear view mirror and narrowed his eyes. "Not for long, he won't be." 

"Look out!" I slid down in the seat as the streetcar crossed directly in our way. 

"SHIT!" Syaoran pulled the wheel around again, and we skidded sideways, coming within inches of the trolley. The engine growled as he hit the pedal, and we shot up another hill. 

"Take a right!" I yelled.

He immediately turned to the right, and I realized too late what a mistake it had been. The sign read Lombard Street,' and the whole thing was a series of curves so sharp it would take forever to go down. I supposed it had been designed to make the steep street easier to get down, and it was only a block long, but still We couldn't even cut through because the sides of the road were edged with thick bushes.

I glanced over at Syaoran, only to find the dawn of an idea on his face. He yanked it into reverse, and we backed up by at least a hundred feet. 

"What are you doing?" I wailed.

"Hold on," he said determinedly. "This had better work."

__

"What had better work?"

He didn't reply, instead shifting into forward and hitting the gas pedal. I cowered down in my seat, terrified. 

Then we came to where the slope started. Only, since Syaoran had backed up so far, we'd built up enough momentum that instead of staying on the pavement, we shot into the air.

For a split second, we were airborne. I could see people pointing and cars screeching to a halt—from a bird's point of view. 

My magic blasted out of me and snapped into a protective shell around the car, and we landed with a sickening thud. Since it was Shield magic, it was also invisible to anyone without magic. 

I think now, when I look back on that particular little episode, that had I not done that, things would have happened that I didn't care to think about. 

Horns blared all around us and I tried to breathe in, but Syaoran was already tearing down the street on the left. 

"W—Wha—" I gasped in breath. "What if he—he tries the same thing?"

"He can't," Syaoran said distractedly. "He was in a van. Even if he tries, he can't clear that." We went down another street, and another and another, finally ending up in front of a police station. 

We came to a halt in front of the station and just sat there for a minute. Syaoran let the engine die, and I let a lung-full of air out in a slow breath. 

And then I remembered the looks on the faces of the people as we soared over their heads, like some prehistoric bird in flight, and giggled. The giggles turned into full-blown, albeit hysteric, laughter, and after a startled second, Syaoran joined in. 

It must have looked odd; two teenagers in a car, laughing like loons, but I was glad to be alive, and so it didn't matter. 

__

A party?

I, Sakura Kinomoto, was invited to a Christmas party. Along with the rest of my class. 

But it was no ordinary party. It was the one that the Marriott was hosting. Only the elite' were invited. Coincidentally, because of Syaoran and I, we and our class officially qualified as elite.'

And it was a formal party. There was a dress code. 

And I knew they wanted me to come. Syaoran and I were now the item,' due to the headline on the front page of the San Francisco newspaper. 

__

Royal Couple Make Unexpected Visit. That's what it said. It turned out that the woman who had been so polite was really a famous reporter, and her story was on the front page. The article went into great detail about how we obviously cared for each other, and how both of us were good role models for the youth of America. I wasn't quite sure how she had managed it, but she'd managed to make us sound good without gushing. 

So now Syaoran and I were an item,' which didn't really help me. I wanted to know if he felt like I did, not have to pretend night after night that I was more to him than a friend. 

But the issue at hand was that I had an invitation to attend the Christmas party. And it would be a shock and a scandal if I didn't. 

The only problem was that I had one dress that would be formal enough, and that was the one Ha Sing had given me. And I'd already worn it—and had my face all over the newspapers in it—so I couldn't wear it again or I'd be slapped with the Worst Dressed Celebrity' title.

I didn't even want to be a celebrity. I was hoping that when I went back to Tomoeda, it all would die down. 

But the fact remained: there was a party I had to attend, it was formal, and I had nothing to wear. There was only one thing to do, and that was to go to Tomoyo. 

Standing, I stretched, then went to the door. But before I could even touch the doorknob, there was a knock.

"Yes?" I opened it, surprised.

"Sakura, I was thinking you could wear this to the party, and if you don't like it then I've got some other ones in my room," Tomoyo said briskly, handing me a floor-length dress. 

I'd never had something so formal. It was pearly white, and of that material that looked knit but sparkled, even without sequins. There were no sleeves, but the neck rose and cinched at a band that circled the base of my throat, and it spread to cover some of my shoulders, stopping just short of where my arms were. The skirt was long and flowing, and just barely brushed the floor, flaring out slightly. "Tomoyo, it—it's _gorgeous._"

"Oh, good." She handed me a pair of silver, strappy high-heeled sandals. "Be careful with these," she warned. "I had Eriol put in a balancing spell so you won't break an ankle, but still"

I was going to die. 

For I had found out what it was going to be like. 

It was going to be like being at an expensive club, where you ordered dinner and milled around, chatting comfortably with people.

And there would be dancing.

Not pop dancing, either. Not funky. 

Waltz-dancing. Dancing like that. I knew how, sure, but

The press would want me to dance with him. With Syaoran. 

I was so screwed.

And I couldn't even do my hair. Tonight, every strand seemed to rebel. 

There was a knock, and I mumbled, "Come in," still yanking a brush through my hair. I'd already changed into my dress; it was almost seven o'clock.

Tomoyo let herself in, and my eyebrows shot up. It appeared as if she had grown another few inches taller, and she looked about ten years older than she really was—like I wanted to look, but I wasn't having any luck. 

She took one look at the woebegone expression on my face and laughed. "Put that brush down and hold still," she ordered. "You'll learn how to do your hair someday."

"Thanks," I said gratefully. 

She somehow managed to turn my short hair from a simple short cut to a sophisticated cropped look, and it almost fluffed out a little more, giving the appearance of actually having layers. 

"Now, this wasn't meant to have red lipstick," she said thoughtfully. "Let's see"

By the time she was done, it looked like _I_ was ten years older too. The shoes definitely helped. 

"It's almost time," she said, glancing at the clock. "Come on, let's go find Syaoran so you guys can walk in together." 

"R-r-r-right," I said nervously. "Still gotta pretend we're dating, right."

She sent me an amused look. "Don't be so nervous. I'm sure he'll think you look great."

"Tomoyo!"

She frowned. "That reminds medid something happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Both of you were acting grumpy, and I was wondering if you had a fight or something."

"Oh." She'd noticed. "No," I said slowly. "We didn't fight."

"Well, what is it?"

I looked down. _I can tell her,_ I decided. _She's always there for me._ "Syaoran—I heard him sayI heard him say there was nothing between us like that."

Her eyebrows went up so fast they almost flew off her forehead, and she blinked, stunned and seemingly thinking of something to say. "II think youheard wrong," she said finally, still shocked. "I—I don't think he'd say something like that."

I shrugged, ignoring the lump that rose in my throat. "I heard it with my own ears."

She opened her mouth, then shut it again. After a moment, she said, "MaybeMaybe you should ask him about it, Sakura. There's got to be some kind of mistake." 

"I'm hoping that's the case," I admitted sadly, staring at my hands. 

"I'm sure it is," she said reassuringly. "Now, come on. Our dates await."

"He _isn't_ my date!" I protested.

"Now, Sakura, how can you say that? According to the rest of the world, you are."

I stood unsteadily, but the sandals held firm and didn't wobble. "Well, _I'm_ not the rest of the world and neither is he."

She smiled the smirk she'd picked up from Eriol. "We'll see about that." 

"And what's that supposed to mean?" _I seem to be asking that a lot_

"Oh, nothing." She opened the door and we stepped out. 

__

"No!" a familiar voice yelled, and there was a crash. "Dammit, Eriol, I _don't_ need to comb my hair!" 

Tomoyo giggled and I flinched as Eriol's condoling voice came through the door on the other side of the hall. "Now, descendant, you need to look nice for the reporters."

"I don't _care_ about the reporters."

"Well, _I_ do, because _I_ have spent all this time making sure you don't look like you just woke up."

"I never even asked! You _dragged_ me in here!"

"It was a necessary procedure." Eriol's tone remained unruffled. There was another thump, and a crunch, and Tomoyo and I exchanged glances. 

The door flew open with a bang and a figure staggered out, looking harried. He straightened and glanced at us, and our eyes locked. 

And yet again, I couldn't move.

With his flat statement that there was nothing between us, many things in my life had turned from truth to lie. It was horridly confusing. The time it had taken for me to sort out my life again hadn't been pleasant; and I still wasn't sure what was true and what was not.

But there was still one thing I still knew to be true, and it was something that would never, ever change, no matter what:

That was the fact that Syaoran Li looked damn fine in a tuxedo. 

I could definitely see why his fans were so dedicated. I, in fact, could not move my gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eriol and Tomoyo exchange smug looks, just like Ha Sing and Mu Han had. 

"Well, Tomoyo, you look nice," Eriol said in the resounding silence. 

"Likewise," she said slyly. "Shall we?"

"We shall." He took her arm and they set off down the hall, leaving us behind. 

I still was staring up at him, my face ever-so-slowly turning a lovely beet red. 

There was a sigh, and I managed to look over, only to find Tomoyo and Eriol waiting impatiently at the end of the hall. "If we may?" Eriol asked dryly. "It doesn't look good when both of the two nobility are late to a party."

"But they could be fashionably late," Tomoyo pointed out. 

"Not to a Christmas party." He shook his head, the light bouncing off his glasses. "Now quit gazing deeply into each other's eyes and come on."

I blushed even harder, taking his arm, and we caught up. The memory of him telling his mother there was nothing between us was fresh in my mind; I couldn't look at him once more. 

Still, though, being so close to him feltright. And even though I was still hurt inside, it didn't keep me from blushing as furiously as ever. 

[AN: I really have no idea why, but my room is starting to smell like fried chickenI could definitely use some KFC right now]

The room was bright and well-lit, the chandelier dangling far over our heads, as we walked in. I could see the flash of a camera, but it wasn't as dramatic as usual. 

The people all looked over when we walked in, though, and I could see glances directed my way. It was so strange, being famous

"Three guesses to what they're going to want you to do," Tomoyo said under her breath.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"First dance!" she hissed. 

I blanched. Dancing? With Syaoran? Impossible

"We would like to have Their Highnesses start the party with the first dance," said a man's voice. 

__

Oh, shit.

The music started as we whirled onto the dance floor. My face couldn't have gotten any redder. 

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

The words echoed in my mind, slowing my frantically-beating heart. But then I remembered that Syaoran of all people was holding me and the inevitable fact that we were dancing, and it started pounding again like a metronome gone mad. It didn't even feel like I was dancing on the floor; it felt like I was dancing on air.

__

Okay. Maybe I **am** still in love with him. That doesn't change anything! Screw men! Who needs a boyfriend? He doesn't—

Oh, shut up

I ignored the conflicting voices in my head, concentrating instead on not falling on my face—or worse, falling on Syaoran. 

"Doesn't that look just like a music box?" an elderly woman whispered to her companion. "You know, where they have those two people dancing."

I blushed even more, though I had to admit us being together had a certain _rightness_ to it. 

The song ended, and there was applause, then as the next song started, people began drifting onto the dance floor. 

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

My heart sank again, and I dropped his hand, saying swiftly, "I—I'm going to get something to drink." Without even waiting for a response, I bolted off the floor. 

I managed to find a glass of water and lifted to my lips with hands that were violently trembling. _Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god._

After swallowing all of the water, I glanced around, searching for anyone I could talk to. There—Rika and Naoko—I hurried over. 

"Hey, Sakura!" Rika waved.

"Hi, Rika," I said cheerfully. "How are you guys?"

"Good," Naoko said stoutly. "I met this really nice guy who likes the same stuff I do."

"Oh, he's from Japan?"

"No." She shook her head. "He's American, but he speaks a some Japanese and I speak some English, so we get along."

"That's cool," I said honestly. "What's his name?" 

"Matt." She looked past me and waved. "Oh, good, he's here."

I turned around and saw a tall, light-haired guy walk over. He had medium blonde hair and hazel eyes, and the same look Naoko always had—excited at merely being alive.

"Konbanwa," he said cheerfully. "Fullerton Matt des. Onamae wa?" [AN: I'm showing off my Japanese skills, but I'm going to translate too. Translation: "Good evening. I'm Matt Fullerton. Who are you?"]

I was surprised. "Kinomoto Sakura des. Anata Nihongo wo hanashimas wa sugoi des ne." [I'm not sure about the last statement, but it should be something like this: "I'm Sakura Kinomoto. You speak Japanese very well."] 

"Iie. Douzo Yoroshiko, Sakura-hime-sama." ["It's nothing. Pleased to meet you, Princess Sakura."

"Watashi mo, to Sakura' ii. Eigo wo hanashimas." ["Likewise, and Sakura' is fine. I do speak English."]

"Honto ni?" ["Is that so?"]

"Hai." ["Yes."]

"I am impressed," he said cheerfully. 

"So am I," I answered. "Like I said, you speak Japanese very well."

"In my second year," he said modestly. "So how long have you known you're a princess?"

"Since this afternoon, actually," I said dryly. "I can thank my friend Tomoyo for that."

He laughed, surprised. "No kidding."

"Naoko tells me you like science fiction," Rika said inquisitively.

"Adore it, particularly Anime." He grinned. "The cartoons here are so immature that what Manga and Anime we get is a welcome change." [AN: Amen to that!]

"Really?" 

He shook his head, rueful. "You have no idea."

Tomoyo came over. "Sakura, there's a woman who wants to ask you a few questions," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry to drag her away from you, but"

"We understand," Naoko laughed. "Come back before you go crazy." 

"I'll try." I followed Tomoyo away and she presented me to the woman who had said Syaoran and I had looked like something from a music box. 

"Your Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said congenially. 

"Oh, please, just Sakura is fine," I said hurriedly. 

She smiled. "I take it Ying Fa is your nickname?" 

I nodded. "Ever since I was a little girl," I lied.

"I see." She peered at me intently. "You remind me of someone"

"Who?" I asked, curious.

She looked thoughtful. "A young Japanese girl I once knew. My daughter and her wrote to each other often."

__

It couldn't be—not—not Mother, could it? "What was her name?"

"Namakido—or Nashikedo—something like that." She frowned, trying to remember.

"Nadeshiko?"

"Yes, that was it," she said with a smile. "How did you know?"

"She—She was my mother," I said softly. "She died eleven years ago, when I was three."

The lady covered her mouth with a gloved hand. "I—I knew she had passed away—but you're her _daughter?_ Oh, my dear child"

I smiled sadly. "Father tells me a lot about her."

"That's right, she married that teacher." She looked thoughtful again, and I tensed. It hadn't taken me too long to figure out that Mother's family hadn't entirely approved of her marriage. 

My worries were unnecessary. "I thought it was the sweetest thing. Just like a movie, it was—a young girl from a wealthy family, falling in love with a poor teacher" She sighed heavily. "It was quite the tale. Most people were either scandalized or touched. Princess Nadeshiko, to marry a teacher" 

"Father's on an excavation," I said weakly. "Right now, that is."

"Ah, yes. He _was_ a brilliant professor." The woman smiled sadly. "How has your life been? When did you find you were royalty?"

"Well," I said with a rueful laugh and a pointed glance at Tomoyo, "this afternoon, when I asked Tomoyo where she came up with the story for the reporters." I couldn't really answer the life question without lying. _"Oh, my lifewell, I've been using my increasing magical powers to catch pieces of paper gone postal and fainting a lot. You?"_

__

"No," the woman asked, sounding shocked. "Just this afternoon?"

I nodded wryly. "I fainted."

"Why, I don't blame you!" She put a hand on my shoulder. "My dear child" 

"Charlotte," called another woman. "Isabelle wants your opinion on what to wear for her Ruby Wedding."

"Oh, dear." Charlotte took a sip from her champagne glass. "Duty callsIt was a delight talking to you, Sakura. I wish you and the prince good luck." She winked slyly and added under her breath, "He qualifies as what _my_ generation of females would call a dish!'" 

Tomoyo snorted into her glass of water as I blushed furiously. "I see she—er—has the same tastes as you," she said innocently.

"Oh, shut up." I stared at the ground, still tomato-red.

"It's getting stuffy in here," she said suddenly, waving a hand to fan herself. "Why don't we go out onto the balcony?"

"Good idea," I said fervently. "Lead the way."

She threaded through the crowd and I followed her. The music was ringing harshly in my ears, the laughter brassy and the talk clattering. The colors of the room were too stark and dry. 

Outside was a welcome change. The sounds of the city were a far sweeter song for my ears than the orchestra's playing; the lights of the buildings were like stars brought to earth and scattered around, frozen in place. The night sky stretched on and on, an endless expanse of black-blue velvet. Lights on the Golden Gate Bridge were reflected in the water, with ships trundling underneath its steel pillars.

The door to the balcony opened again, and I turned around as Eriol walked outwith Syaoran behind him. 

__

Oh, no. Tomoyo, you would **not** do this to your friendnot to your dear friend Sakura, would you? I let you tape me, I let you dress me upyou wouldn't do this to your old, dear friend

"Mind if we join you?" Eriol asked smoothly. 

"Not at all," Tomoyo answered as I reflected on the fact that Eriol and Tomoyo seemed to be answering for us a lot. 

"So, Sakura, how are you?" he asked cordially. 

"Um, fine," I answered. Syaoran hadn't said anything yet. "You?"

"Splendid." He leaned on the rail. "How about you, Tomoyo?"

"I am having a lovely time." She smiled. 

And I realized that _It_ was going to happen. 

__

No. No, they can't do this to me. They can't. I'll kill them, I'll kill them, I'll kill them dead.

There was only one thing _It_ could be, and the warning sign was the way they we're talking. That polite, calm talk—it was too perfect, too friendly. It sounded like something from an over-rehearsed soap opera. 

And it was the one sign that _It_ was coming. 

They were going to bail. To ditch. To jet. 

They were going to leave me alone with Syaoran. That was _It._

I could have strangled them.

"Say, Tomoyo, you wouldn't happen to know where the drinks are?" Eriol asked casually. "All that socializing made me thirsty."

"I'll show you. Come on." She opened the door, and they went back inside. The curtains fell over the windowpanes in the doors, hiding us from view. 

__

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my GOD DAMN GOD!!!!

I leaned on the railing, trying to pretend I was perfectly comfortable and failing. Syaoran also leaned on the railing, a polite distance between us. 

There was silence. Cars honked. My heart was putting in good effort in an attempt to throw itself out of my chest. I stared at the rippling waters, at the buildings, at the street—anything but _him._

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

The words rang in my ears, and I tried to ignore them. _Look at something else, Sakura._ My gaze shifted to the restaurant a few blocks away. 

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

Look at something else.

I dropped my stare to the people on the sidewalk. 

__

"There is **nothing** like that between me and Sakura. Nothing."

Look at something else!

It was too late. The tension that had been building in me since I'd heard those words climbed into my throat, and before I knew it, tears were flooding my eyes.

But I refused to let them fall. Not in front of Syaoran. 

"Sakura?" I heard his voice; it sounded nearer. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

I swallowed. He had seen. 

And the question that had been burning inside me came out.

"Did you mean it?" I asked desperately, the tears shining as I whirled to face him, staring almost defiantly into his confused amber eyes. _"Did you mean it when you said there was nothing like that between you and me?"_

He looked stricken. "You—you heard?" he whispered. Suddenly, he started to reach out a hand towards me—

And the door opened. It was one of the guests.

"Oh—am I interrupting something?" he asked thickly, adjusting his bow tie with a snuffle as Syaoran's hand dropped to his side. "The tree's makig by siduses go crazy."

There was a pause, and I said, "Um—nono, I was just going back inside." Trying not to cry, I quickly walked through the door and back into the ballroom. 

Tomoyo caught me on the way out. "Sakura, where are you going?" 

"I—I'm tired," I said wearily. It was only a half-lie. "I'm going to bed."

"But don't you want to—"

__

"No, Tomoyo. I don't." I practically ran out the door, knowing I was being rude, but I didn't care. 

It wasn't too hard getting back to my room. Once inside, I change into my pajamas and curled up in one of the armchairs, watching the TV through dull, listless eyes. 

Every channel seemed to have something on that had to do with romance. 

"Spending time with your loved ones?" a voice cooed in one commercial. I changed the station. 

__

Ever After was playing, just at the part where Danielle and the Prince had their first kiss. 

I changed the station.

Every channel. It was all about romance, and being with the people you loved. Well, it was Christmas Eve, and I was alone, in a hotel room away from my family, and decidedly unloved. After all, Syaoran hadn't said No, of course not, I was saying that so the Elders wouldn't try to hurt you.' He hadn't said, No—Sakura, it was a _lie_—you mean the world to me!' He hadn't said, No, Sakura, I love you with all my heart and I want to be with you for ever and ever.'

Okay, so the last one was incredibly cheesy. In fact, all of them had been cheesy. But the fact remained: I had asked if he had meant it, and he hadn't said no. He had said You heard?' like he felt bad about it. Like he had known all along that I loved him, and I was never meant to know he didn't love me back. 

I turned off the TV and closed my eyes, then got up. Maybe the café would have hot chocolate; I needed some. 

Putting on some slippers, and a bathrobe, I padded down the hall, not even caring that I was walking down the halls of a ritzy hotel in my pajamas. The elevator was empty, like I felt. 

People stared as I walked past, but I didn't care. They could go play patty-cake with an armadillo for all I cared. 

"Do you have hot chocolate?" I asked the cashier, my voice tired. 

"Sure, Princess," he said sympathetically. "No offense, but you don't look so hot."

The man making the hot chocolate looked up when he heard the word Princess,' but I thought nothing of it. People were getting surprised to see me, like I was Madonna or something.

"I don't feel so hot," I said with bittersweet amusement. 

"Rough day?" he asked as his friend put whipped cream on the hot chocolate.

"You have no idea." I laughed sadly. 

"Well, if it's anything to do with that boyfriend of yours, he's being a dolt." He handed me the cup. "This one's on the house."

"I can't—" I paused. "I don't like it when people give me free stuff cuz I'm famous," I admitted. "I just found out I'm a princess this afternoon. I thought it was a lie my friend made up for the press."

The cashier shrugged. "It would've been on the house, even if you weren't a princess. I won't take no for an answer."

I managed a weak smile, touched. Americans had a reputation for being loud and rude and unsophisticated, but all I saw were people who loved liberty and helped one another in the hardest of times. "Thank you," I said with real feeling. [AN: On a serious note, God Bless America.]

"Not a problem." He winked, then went back to wiping off the counter. 

I headed back upstairs, sipping at my hot chocolate. There was a slightly funny taste to it, but I figured it was something to do with how they made it in America and ignored it, refusing to look a gift horse in the mouth. I got in the elevator and leaned against the wall, the depression starting to set in again. What was I going to do? How could I even face Syaoran after tonight?

There was a ding, and the doors opened. My footsteps made hardly any noise as I shuffled down the hall and came to my room. Slipping the key in, I let myself inside. 

I shut the door quietly behind me and didn't bother to lock it, sitting back down in my chair and tucking my legs up. With a sigh, I took a deep draft and stared at the ceiling. There was nothing for me to do but think. And I did.

About Syaoran.

Closing my eyes, I saw his face like I'd seen it last: shocked, and stricken. He was always so nice to meit explained why he hadn't just broken the truth to me long ago, telling me he didn't love me.

The pain inside me grew. 

__

Maybe I'll go get another onebut I'm not going to go down again in my pajamas. I got up and changed into a plain pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then sat back down in my chair to finish my drink. Oddly, I was much more tired than before.

[AN: And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse)]

I swallowed another mouthful of hot chocolate. Exhaustion was starting to wear at me, and fastToo fast

I spat out my last sip as it came together, but it was too late. 

"Drugged," I whispered. "It's drugged."

Eriol had shown me a spell I was using now. It told from the moment of its activation on if there was poison anything I ate. The only downside, he had told me, was that only worked on a poison that could kill you. 

"A drugto make me sleep, then" I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Butwhy? Who?" It wasn't that cashier. He hadn't touched it except for handing it to me—he was just being nice. 

But his co-workerthe one who had looked up when he'd heard 

__

"They found two guns on a rooftop nearby."

Two.

He was my attacker's partner. 

And it was too late.

__

Whywhy would they want meto be asleep? The hotel hasgreat security Especially cuzthey've gotsomeone famousso there's no way they couldbreak in

I was out like a light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Syaoran

I paced around the hotel room, stressed. It was nine o'clock in the morning, and I wanted to talk to Sakura, but I also preferred that she be awake. 

I still could not believe she had heard. And boy, had Tomoyo chewed me out. 

I winced, remembering some of the stronger expressions she'd used. And she'd been really very creative in her insults, too. Mei Ling would have been proud.

__

Let's see, there was moronic pea-brain', Neanderthal', and what else? Oh yes, idiotic shit-head.' I didn't even think she swore.

But, in the end, I had gotten the message. She was pissed. 

And I already knew I had to talk to Sakura. How could she have heard that without me knowing?

And then I remembered my mother had said, when the Prophecy was speaking through her: _"You will regret your words."_

It was all too true. 

But—why was Sakura so upset? She could have taken it the wrong way, like I had said we weren't even friends, but would she be so upset over that? [AN: Someone needs to get a clue] 

Tomoyo wouldn't even let me talk to her. When she hadn't answered the door last night, Tomoyo had decided she was asleep and absolutely forbid me talking to her until the morning—and when Sakura had woken up.

I paced around the room some more, unwilling to wait that long. 

Something was strange, though. Usually, Sakura didn't sleep in this late; she was almost always up by eight-thirty. 

Just to reassure myself, I reached over and searched for her aura—

And found nothing. 

__

No. That can't be right. I tried again, getting a strange feeling in my stomach. 

Nothing. 

I was out of my room in a split second. For a moment, I paused at her door, wondering if this was all some big mistake, but something told me this was terribly, terribly wrong. 

I threw open the door, only to find—

Nothing. Again.

The room was empty. The Key of Star was on the table, lifeless. There was a paper cup on the carpet, and a brown stain spreading from it. I reached a hand over it, and the aura of a sleeping drug prickled my fingers.

__

Oh no. 

Standing up, I looked around frantically. And my eyes landed on a piece of paper, laid on the bed. Striding over, I picked it up.

W**E** Ha_V_e T**h**_E_ **G**IR_l_. I_F_ y**_o_**U C**ON**_t_a_Ct_ t_H_**E** A_U_T**_hO_**r**i**Ti**_Es_** **W**E **w**i**_L_**L K**_I_**L**L** _HE_R. **CO**M_e_ A**LO**n_e_ tO _tH_e b_a**C**_k D_o_O**R** o_F_ T**_H_**e **p**L_A_z**_a _**Ho**T**E_l_aT N_o_O**N** O**r** S**_H_**E W**i**_L_L **D**_I_E. I_f_ **A**nY_on_E i**_S _**W**i**TH y**Ou** W_e **W**_i_l_**l k**_i_lL _H_e**R. **

The note fell out of my hand and fluttered onto the bed like a wounded dove.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, I distinctly remember saying something about people dying

But here's some last minute dedications! This chapter is dedicated to:

Megaleg!!!! 

Kimmaaaayyy!!!!

Cutie Blossom!!!

Hobbes!!! (I get it now! You say you never want to see me because the only way you'll see me is if school starts and HAHAAHAHA I GET IT NOW!!!!)

SAL!!!!

NAF!!!!

CreatiStar!!!!

Urania*Niecy!!! (May the Chicken of Despair torment your enemies! ^_^)

Silex!

Wing!

RedScale!!!

Alina!!!

And EVERY SINGLE DAMN REVIEWER!!! (As Hobbes so callously put it, all two of you) I know I'm forgetting a crapload of you guys, but put up with me! It's 12:19 AM, technically it's Saturday now, and I'm entitled to flake! If I didn't mention you, rest assured that not only will I go back and read your review, but I will kick myself where the sun don't shine cuz I forgot to mention you!

Oh yeah, and a quick FYI: This chapter was 40 3/4 pages long, in single-spaced, 12-pt Times font, and with 1.25" margins. DAMN!!!! It also took me five days to write. DAMMMMNNN AGAIN!!!

And YOU just read it all!!!!

DAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMNNNNNN!!!!!

Now, to the fun part! I get to kill people off!!! YAAAAYYYY!!!!


	9. You're Gonna Die, Clown!

Vacation!

Chapter Nine: You're Gonna _Die,_ Clown!

Okay, this is guaranteed to make some of you who know me too well laugh. I thought this was going to be the last chapter, so I wrote this big, emotional intro, saying how much I appreciated your guys' reviews (which, believe me, I do) and how it's been a lot of fun writing this (which it really has been) and stuff like that. 

And then I got this idea.

Only it wouldn't work quite like I had planned this out

And I'd never really liked the idea of having only nine chapters

So happy birthday, you get a tenth chapter. Y'know, the one after this one. Spiffy, ne?

Oh yeah! I've been forgetting thisSomeone asked if I was from the bay area! Sadly, no, I'm not, but I'm close enough that my dad's family and I went on a two-week vacation up (and down) the state of California! Even better, most of it was spent either sleeping or in the carIt was quite the ordeal, let me assure you. And I got almost all of the ideas for this story there, too! I was watching the Firework Spectacular when I got the idea for the destruction of Sleeping Beauty's Palace, cruising the streets of the cities when I got the idea of the Oppositeand so on. Actually, what sprouted the Opposite Card idea was the image of Sakura roaring away from a bar, straddling a motorcycle. It was aner hemeducational experience.

And yet ::sigh:: I still don't own this

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[AN: Hmmm.let's start with]

****

Sakura

I'd tried to be a good sport about this whole psychotic religious freaks trying to wipe my existence from the surface of the earth' thing. I'd really, really tried. Honestly, I had.

But this was definitely pushing my limits.

Yes, after being drugged, kidnapped, taken somewhere against my will, tied to a chair—tight, too—and told that I'm just the bait so someone I loved more than anything in the world would have to come and save me, I was somewhat pissed off.

Okay, I was really pissed off.

__

Don't panic, Sakura. I stared at the red-hot poker in front of me. _Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic._

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!!!!

Wellif worse comes to worseit can't hurt that much, can it?

"Soyou still won't talk, hmm?" The man's ice-cold blue eyes glinted hellishly at me in the glowing crimson light of the poker as he waved it even closer. The searing heat coming from it alone was enough to cause pain. 

I could not, honestly, believe this. My kidnappers had to be the stupidest people on the planet. 

It hadn't even occurred to him that maybe the reason I wasn't talking was that I WAS STILL GAGGED.

"Derek." Fred, Derek's partner—and the one who had slipped the drugs into my hot chocolate—pointed to his watch. "It's time."

Derek looked almost disappointed. He hadn't tried anything serious on me, which was more than a small relief, but he seemed almost sad that he couldn't try to hurt me some more. "What time?"

"Eleven fifty-five." 

I glanced around again at my surroundings. It was dim in here, and musty, like no one ever came down here anymore. There was an old dumbwaiter over to my right, which told me we were in an old building at least, but where? Which one? Was I even still in San Francisco?

[AN: Okay, it's like 3:52 AM on what used to be Friday night and now is Saturday morning, so I'm gonna go to sleep now, and I'll work on this in the morning.]

[AN: Okay, now it's 3:57 PM Saturday, and I'm supposed to be cleaning my room. Huh.]

Derek turned his back to me, and I could hear the clinking of glass and the slight hiss of liquid. 

__

What are they **doing?**

Do I want to know?

And then Derek faced me again. In his hand was a syringe, filled with something of a poisonous yellow shade. 

Walking over, he pushed a tiny bead of it out and smiled in grim satisfaction.

__

What is that? What are they going to do to me? Oh my god

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic.

I cringed as the sharp tip of the needle bit into my arm. The pain was momentary, but the drug went into action immediately.

The spell Eriol had shown me—the one that showed what was a fatal poison and what was not—started to reactbut halfway. 

__

What? Is the spell malfunctioning? I wondered as a slight sting spread through my veins. The mental alarm' was sounding, but it kept cutting off at intervals. Had something near me been poison, it would have been one long, unending note. 

I could feel the chemical start to wrap tendrils of darkness around me, the feeling swiftly fading from my limbs. Struggling to stay awake and not give in, I noticed too late that blackness was creeping over my vision

The drug pulled me down, into the shadows of unconsciousness. [AN: Where the Chicken of Despair livesMWAHAHAHA]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Syaoran

[AN: sings Here he goes to save the DAAAAAYYYY!!!!]

I walked down the dark hall, every sense on alert. 

Well, every sense was on alertbut my mind was not. My mind was most definitely on Sakura.

__

If they've done **anything** to her—if they've touched a hair on her head—My fist clenched furiously. 

I opened my hand again, to find the Key of Star had left a circular imprint in my palm. The star seemed almost to shine with its own light, twinkling even in the dim hall. 

I was reminded of Sakura, how she always laughed or smiled in the darkest of situations.

Thing were not looking good. I hadn't told anyone where I was going, but Eriol and Tomoyo were going to figure it out soon enough, and then we'd get help. I realized—too late—the stalkers had to have had an inside operator, which would have made it easy to tap the phone lines. If I had called the police, they truly would have known, and killing Sakura was something they'd been trying to do for the past week, so I didn't doubt their threat.

The problem was, magic was a tricky thing. Even if I could get to Sakura, there were restrictions. Some Cards worked on both people with and without magic, some didn't. The Shot, for instance—Kero hadn't said the whole thing. It would attack the first person with magic, which had happened to be me. And there were some of the Elemental Cards. The Firey, when it had attacked [AN: It _should_ be spelled Fiery, because Firey' is not a word, as my spell-checker is pointing out right now. I guess Clow Reed couldn't spell. snort Dumbass.] had only set the trees on fire. It didn't work on people without magic, which was a good thing. Watery, on the other hand, did, as did Earthy, while Windy was like Firey—only working on people with magic. Shadow was able to move things, but it couldn't physically hurt a person without magic. All of the Cards were either both ways or one.

But we'd never taken the time to figure out which was which. 

__

This is looking really, really bad

The previous worries I'd had were gone, overwhelmed by the urgent need to get Sakura back. The fact that she'd heard no longer mattered at the moment; neither did the fact that she'd been upset. 

Sudden memory made me stop short.

__

"You'll see it, Xiao Lang, and you'll regret not telling her sooner."

That couldn't mean—no, it was impossible—

Could that have meant she was going toto die? Before I could tell her?

__

That can't happen!

If I let her die—

__

I won't let her die! I promised her I wouldn't let them hurt her, and dammit, I keep my promises!

But what if she was fated to die?

I broke into a run, dread filling me. My rapid footsteps were the only sound in the dark corridor. 

Soon, I came to a dead end—or what had once been one. Someone had broken through the wall, exposing another hall altogether, one that had been sealed off. I was in the oldest part of the hotel, the part that had been built over after the fire early in the twentieth century. 

Someone wouldn't have broken into the older part of the building unless they had one desire: not to be discovered. And this was _supposed_ to be a dead end.

I climbed over a small barrier and ran on, my heart pounding out of fear of what they could be doing to her. My path twisted and turned, old ruins of rotting doors and Victorian hotel rooms on either side. There was almost a smoky, charred smell to it, and I caught a glimpse of peeling wallpaper and collapsed timbers on either side of me. It was eerie, like walking through a graveyard.

Then a flash of dim light ahead caught my attention. The door ahead was practically whole, which was surprising. I slowed, my hand clenching around the Key of Star once more, then threw the door open.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, and when they did, I found the room was mostly empty, but for one thing, something slumped in a chair—

"Sakura!"

Her hair hung down around her face, her eyes closed, her face white and unmoving. I could see red welts around her wrists where the ropes were binding her to the chair. She didn't move an inch, her mouth still caught by a gag.

Was she dead?

I rushed over to her. All thoughts of hiding how I felt towards her were pushed aside. I needed to know if she was alive and I needed to know _now._

I knelt in front of her, cradling her pale face in my hands, and saw she was breathing with unspeakable relief. 

Getting my mind back, I immediately worked on getting her free. The knots were hard, but if I called out my sword to cut through the rope, the blade would be too sharp and it would hit her as well. 

There was a slight movement over my head, and I glanced up. Sakura was flinching, and then her eyes slowly opened, the look in them dreamy. Then they landed on me.

Immediately, her expression turned to one of surprise, then horror, and she started trying to talk, but the gag was in her way. 

"Hold on." I stood and went around, to the back of her head, and untied the cloth. 

"Syaoran—it's a trap—you have to get out of here!" She looked on the brink of tears. 

I had known all along that there was a very good chance I was going to get hurt. There was also a very good chance that I would die. But if I was going to die getting Sakura out, it was worth it. 

But it also meant that, since I was probably going to die, I didn't have to hide how I felt from her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

3rd Person

Tomoyo Daidouji was not, by nature, a person who lost her temper often. It simply didn't happen. Not ever. 

But when she had seen her best friend storming out of the party, tears running down her face—and Sakura had snapped at her, which meant she was _really_ upset, too—that had pushed her over the edge. 

And Syaoran Li had found out what exactly happened when she lost her temper.

__

I don't know She leaned on her elbow, propping it on the table. _Maybe I was too hard on him. He did say something about being interrupted_

I should see how Sakura's holding up. Standing, she opened the door and stepped outside just as Eriol came out of the room next to hers. 

"Hi," she said cheerfully. "I was just going to check on Sakura."

"Ah, the irony," he said dryly. "Thought I'd have a word with our merry little brown-eyed sunshine."

She laughed. "Got the Vikaden?" [AN: That's a muscle relaxant. ^_^ Random fact o' the day!] 

He, of course, had the perfect response. "Actually, I was going for Viagra, but sure, Vikaden would work"

At the thought of Syaoran Li on Viagra, she burst into smothered laughter, snorting into her hands. "Don—don't," she gasped. "Sakura would beat you senseless."

"Don't you think she'd be a bit—um—busy?" he asked slyly.

Yet again, she went into fits of laugher. "Kn-knock it off." She straightened. "I've got to talk to Sakura."

"Right-o." He headed down the hall towards Syaoran's room with a shudder, and Tomoyo knocked briskly on Sakura's door. "Sakura?"

There was no response, and she knocked again. "Sakura?" When no sound answered her call, she opened the door.

The room was empty, a brown stain on the rug, a piece of paper on the bed. Frowning, Tomoyo walked over and picked it up.

W**E** Ha_V_e T**h**_E_ **G**IR_l_. I_F_ y**_o_**U C**ON**_t_a_Ct_ t_H_**E** A_U_T**_hO_**r**i**Ti**_Es_** **W**E **w**i**_L_**L K**_I_**L**L** _HE_R. **CO**M_e_ A**LO**n_e_ tO _tH_e b_a**C**_k D_o_O**R** o_F_ T**_H_**e **p**L_A_z**_a _**Ho**T**E_l_aT N_o_O**N** O**r** S**_H_**E W**i**_L_L **D**_I_E. I_f_ **A**nY_on_E i**_S _**W**i**TH y**Ou** W_e **W**_i_l_**l k**_i_lL _H_e**R.**

The note dropped out of her hand as she stood there, stunned. 

There was a knock on the door, and Eriol pushed it open. "Tomoyo, is he in here?"

She whirled, snatching the note up, and thrust it in his face. _"Look!"_ she said hoarsely. _"Look at that!"_

Eriol scanned the note and swore profusely. "They must have known he'd go after her," he said furiously. "How could they have done this without any of us knowing?"

Tomoyo couldn't answer. The tears were rolling down her face as it seemed her world fell apart. How could this be happening? Sakura? And Syaoran? It happened all the time—to someone _else!_ Not her friends! 

She had all the money and rooms in her house and cameras and everything material she wanted; yet none of it helped, and she would have traded it all just to have her best friend and the one who made her best friend happy back. This couldn't be her friends. It wasn't real until it was someone she knew.

Somehow, she found her voice. "I—I'm calling the police," she managed to choke out.

"But they said—"

"From my phone." She ran out, praying that it wasn't going to be too late. 

This was one of the rare times that both Tomoyo Daidouji and Eriol Hiiragizawa were perilously close to losing their tempers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

"It's a _trap!"_ I repeated. "This is a _trap,_ Syaoran!"

How could he have done this? Why were men always so _stupid,_ putting themselves in danger like this? Didn't he realize he could be hurt, or even killed?

He bent down in front of me, bringing our faces far too close for my comfort. And then he took my chin in his fingers and said softly, "I know that, Sakura."

He _knew?_

He _knew,_ and he'd still come anyway? He'd still come for me?

I nearly swooned. 

He went behind me to work on untying my wrists. "What did they do to you?" he asked, his voice quiet with anger.

"N-Nothing much," I stammered out, still trying to digest the fact that he cared about me enough to put his own life on the line. "Waved a hot poker in my face, stormed and threatened, nothing big." 

My wrists came free as he muttered something under his breath. "What?" I asked, massaging my hands. 

"Nothing." He knelt by my feet as I bent down, and we both started to try to get the ropes off my ankles. 

"Where are we?"

"They didn't rebuild part of the Plaza Hotel after the fire," he said distractedly. "This is it. How did they get you to sleep?"

For a moment, I couldn't answer. My hands had brushed his. And then my mind started working again, and I remembered.

"They—they gave me some kind of injection," I said slowly, cold terror building in my stomach. I froze. "But it wasn't just for making me sleep"

"What?" He looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"

"She means it was poison, too," sneered a cold voice that was definitely a man's, although it was unusually high. [AN: Hey, Cutie Blossom! ) I'm talking about Baka-Head, so be sure to mention this description to him] "Stand up. Any funny stuff and I'll fill you full of lead."

We both stood—my feet were free. Derek and Fred were standing in front of us, both of them armed and both guns pointing directly at us.

There was a crunch, and an old support beam fell across the doorway, blocking our way out. As if to seal us in further, stones and plaster cascaded down, rattling into a avalanche until there was a pile of stones in front of the door. 

"Stay away from her!" Syaoran said suddenly.

"Shut up!" Fred cocked his gun. "One more word out of you, jackass, and I—" he paused, then grinned, his eyes on me. "I shoot _her."_

Derek started laughing maniacally, his gun never wavering from where it was trained on Syaoran. "You're screwed," he [AN:NOOO!!! It's Ricky Glassy-Ass!!! ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!] said, his voice conveying every inch of insanity. "You're so screwed, even if we don't kill you now."

Syaoran and I exchanged glances, but said nothing.

"That poison is going to kill you in twenty-five minutes," Fred added, his voice dark with sadistic humor. "And even if you don't die of the poison, we can always shoot you both."

"Leave—" My voice faltered, and I swallowed, then said fiercely, "Leave him alone!"

Derek laughed. "Like we'd let him live."

"You aren't going to get away with this," I heard myself say, even though my head was spinning. He'd _poisoned_ me? I was _poisoned?_ "Your letter's enough. They'll find me."

Derek just smirked. "We have two nice apartments waiting for us south of the border. They'll never find us." He paused. "Bitch."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Syaoran go white with fury. 

__

If I can talk them up long enough, maybe the police will come in time. "They'll close down the border."

"Not soon enough," Fred said mockingly. 

"Why do you want to kill me?" I asked desperately, casting my mind around for more things to ask them. 

"Don't play games with us, Satan." Derek stared at me, his eyes crazy.

"I'm not Satan!"

"You lie," he said triumphantly. "Only evil people lie. We're going to rid the earth of your evil, hell-whore."

I swallowed. "I'm not evil."

"You are." His finger tightened on the trigger. "And now you die."

Something pulled me to the ground as there was a crack over my head. Swearing filled my ears, and I looked up to find that Derek had broken his nose from the kick of the gun. [AN: The bullet comes out of the gun with such force that it pushes the gun back, and Derek hadn't been ready, so it'd hit him in the nose. snort He SUCKS, the JACKASS. -_-; Sorry, I just saw Happy Gilmore.] 

A small object was pressed into my hand. My fingers closed over it—and Syaoran's hand—and I knew it was the Key of Star. 

My mind forgot that I had just inadvertently held onto Syaoran's hand. "Release!" The wand shot out, and I summoned the Card I needed. "Time!"

Immediately, everything froze except for Syaoran and I. I got to my feet, then stumbled. Time was draining my energy fast; but it was something else, too. _The poison._

Well, spiffy. If I'm going to die, then I might as well get Syaoran out of here alive. But how?

I looked around, and my eyes landed on the dumbwaiter. _That's it!_ "Come on!" I seized his wrist and pulled him over to the cupboard-like hole. It was barely big enough for both of us.

Time flickered, then started again, and the wand shrank back into the Key. My power had worn so far that I couldn't support it anymore. 

__

"Wind!" Syaoran used his magic and we shot up as there were confused yells and curses. The rope rattled and the board creaked, giving us away, but by then we were out of the old part of the hotel.

I happened to glance up, which was a good thing, because that way I saw they'd blocked up the passage and we'd reach the dead end in about ten seconds.

Syaoran saw it too, and we stopped just as a bullet shot through the board we were on, right between my knees. 

I gasped, and his eyes widened. He looked around, then muttered, "Here goes nothing." Suddenly, I was being pulled closer to him and he was saying lowly, "Hold on."

There was a crunch as he threw his back against the side of the chimney-like passage we were in. The plaster and old wood broke easily, and we were falling—

We hit the ground with a thud. Syaoran's arms were still around me and I raised my head only to find him under me—he'd intentionally broken my fall. For a both short and eternal moment, I couldn't tear my eyes from his.

People pointed and stared, and as I scrambled to my feet, catching sight of the gaping hole in the wall. We'd fallen out about fifteen feet above the ground, in the lobby. 

And then there were shouts as Derek and Fred charged through the door, still armed. People scattered at the sight of the guns like leaves on the wind.

"Come on!" It was my turn to be pulled away as Syaoran took me by the hand and ran to the elevators. Fortunately, we weren't the only ones running, and we were lost in the crowd. 

"What about the Shadow?" I gasped. "They wouldn't know what hit them!"

"It won't work!" he shouted back. "Not on them!"

We shoved past countless people, and I heard a few incredulous murmurs—"Isn't that Princess Sakura?"—"It's Xiao Lang Li!"—but we ignored them, managing to finally stumble into the elevator. 

The only problem was that it was a glass elevator. 

As we watched, Derek and Fred looked around, but they didn't see us until we had passed the fourth floor. Then Fred pointed to us, and they started making their way over; we were out of range of gunfire by then.

I leaned heavily on the glass wall, breathing hard—and not just because of what we'd gone through. It was getting harder to keep breathing, and my chest hurt. 

My vision started to fade, and I heard someone call my name, but it rang in my ears and I couldn't do anything. When I forced my eyes open again, I found I was leaning heavily on Syaoran, my face inches from his. 

The elevator bell dinged, and I pulled my mind from thoughts of him with much difficulty. We ran out, only to find we weren't on the top floor. The Plaza had a restaurant at the very top called Equinox, one that revolved, so you'd get a full view of the city in one hour. [AN: I went there on my vacation, and I got to have a virgin (non-alcoholic) Pina Colada. Mmm, those are good.] They had a special elevator for it, and we dashed into that one just as Derek and Fred hurled out of another one. The doors closed as bullets buried in them, making marble-sized indents in the stainless steel. Within seconds, the doors slid open again, and we darted out. 

Knowing we had but a few seconds, we ran out, then along the edge. There had to be somewhere to go—there _had_ to be.

The kitchens came into sight as we bowled over a waiter. I grabbed Syaoran's hand and we ducked past another server, then pushed the door open. 

People were running around like crazy, but we dodged them. I accidentally sent a platter of liquor flying, and there were crashes as Derek and Fred charged in after us.

I spotted a wall of pots and pans, all on a metal rack. "Help me!" I wheezed—the poison was doing its work, and fast. 

I leaned on the rack, and Syaoran pushed too. It swayed, then fell to the ground with an ear-splitting crash, blocking their way for at least a few seconds.

Syaoran looked up and I followed his gaze to a trapdoor a few feet above our heads. 

__

Bingo!

He climbed onto the counter and I jumped up beside him as he yanked the trapdoor open. Then the room moved suddenly as I was gently lifted up by my waist. "Go," Syaoran's voice said behind me.

About to protest, I realized it was too late for that and hauled myself through, then looked behind me as he pulled himself up. 

I stood unsteadily, then quickly sat down with a thump. _Oh my god._

We were on the very top of the hotel. The _very_ top. And the ground was slowly moving under me, because it was the roof of the revolving restaurant. 

The street was much too far beneath me. Much, much too far. I nearly fainted. 

There was nowhere left to run.

There was a clack, and then Derek's head came up through the door. His eyes swept around, then landed on us, and he smiled grimly, coming up. 

I started to scuttle away, then remembered I was perilously close to the edge of the roof and stopped, then managed to get to my feet again, my knees nearly giving out both from the height and the poison. 

Then I remembered what I'd used to keep us from being shot on Balboa Island. My magic had regenerated enough that I could use it, too

"Release!" The wand shot out. _"Shield!"_

A bubble materialized around Syaoran and I as a bullet hit the wall, too late. I flinched on the impact, but gritted my teeth and fought it. Another and another slammed into Shield, and it took all my willpower to keep them out. A moment's falter would cost us our lives. 

Syaoran put his hand on the wand and gave me his magic, but we'd both used so much of our energy that it wouldn't last much longer. I stared at the star on the wand, concentrating as hard as I could.

"Sakura."

Startled, I glanced up. Syaoran was staring at something in the distance, deep in thought.

"Sakura, when I say so, I want you to let Shield go," he said tonelessly, standing up. 

__

"What?!" I stood up too, but then my knees gave out. 

He caught me and lowered me carefully back to the ground. "Let Shield go when I say."

"What are you going to do?" I asked fearfully. He'd taken so many riskswhat was he going to do now?

He looked down into my eyes, then knelt in front of me and slipped a hand behind my head, then kissed my forehead. "Remember how I said they won't hurt you? I won't let them. Just trust me, Sakura."

I blushed wildly, managing to nod, and he stood again. _He has to have something in mind. He won't do anything stupid. He won't. He won't._

Derek and Fred watched us as sweat rolled down my face. Suddenly, Derek held something up—a small vial.

"You want this?" he called sarcastically. "It's the antidote." A cold smile crossed his face. "One swallow, and you live."

Both of us froze; then I shook my head. "No" I whispered. "NoSyaoran, you ready?"

"Sakura—"

"Five seconds," I said lowly. Shield blocked our voices, but not theirs. 

He started to protest, but I shook my head. "Can't hold it much longer," I managed to get out. "Two seconds"

"Sakura—you can't—"

"Now!" 

He paused, and I glared at him, a bead of sweat rolling past my eyes. "Don't make me hold it," I whispered. "Please."

He seemed torn, but then something seemed to occur to him, and he nodded. 

"Five seconds," I said, my voice now barely audible. _Please, let him be safe. He'll be safe. Don't let him be hurt, please don't let him be hurt._ "TwoNow."

Shield was sucked back into the Card. Then everything seemed to turn to slow motion.

Syaoran rushed them. I saw the look in his eyes as he jumped—

And then, as I watched—all I could do was watch—all three of them dropped out of sight. 

__

No

There was shocked, horrified silence. The lonely wind howled its sorrow as I sat there, stunned. Numb. Unable to move. 

It couldn't have happened. He couldn't have done that. He could not have just taken the attackers over the edge with him. 

And then I found my voice. 

__

"SYAORAN!!!" I screamed his name, but there was silence. Everything was silence. 

But I wasn't going to let the silence rest.

__

"SYAORAN!!!" I screamed again. If I screamed hard enough, it had to be worth something_. "SYAORAN!!!"_

But there was nothing.

__

No! NO! I can't let it end this way! It **won't** end this way! He—he **has** to be alive!

My muscles wouldn't move. The drug was working into them. 

__

No! _I **won't** let them win! I **won't!**_

I clenched my fist—it, at least, was under my control—tight, so tight my nails bit into the flesh of my palm. Scarlet stained my fingers, but the pain was forcing back the poison, at least for a moment. 

Slowly, I forced myself to crawl, on my hands and knees, over to the edge. By then, it had to be much too late, but

Just before I got there, my muscles gave out and I collapsed. 

__

No—I've gotten this far—

Gathering every ounce of strength I had left, I pulled myself forward the last few inches and looked down.

Now, when I look back on this, I believe in miracles. And this was why.

Syaoran was hanging onto a bar with one hand. About twenty feet below him were Fred and Derek, lying on someone's balcony, unmoving. They hadn't fallen far enough to be seriously injured, so I just guessed they were unconscious. 

His eyes locked with mine, and I dragged myself up on one elbow, calling out the wand once more. "F-Float," I gasped. "Release." 

The pink wrapped around him and lifted him up, bringing him closer. Then my magic ran out, just before he'd gotten there.

__

"NO!" I threw myself forward and caught his hand. "Don't let go," I said unnecessarily. Brief strength, the product of adrenaline, filled me, and I pulled him up. He stumbled up, then fell to his knees. His hand that had held onto the ledge was red, but his other one was clenched around something. 

He opened his hand, and I saw what it was: the vial. The antidote. 

__

HowHow much timeHow long has it been, though? I wondered dizzily. The buildings around me were spinning, along with everyone else, but then they faded again. 

__

Ohit must have beenthe twenty-five minutesmust be up

I felt myself fall back.

__

"Sakura, **no!**" 

Somehow, my vision cleared for an instant, and Syaoran's face swam into view. His eyes were wide and horror-struck. 

"Syaoran" I whispered. _Syaoran, I love you_ I couldn't get the words out. He would never know.

"Don't you _dare_ leave me!" he yelled, but I was going

A single tear slid out of my eye, and then it was all darkness. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Told you so. 

No! Wait! Don't kill me!

I TOLD YOU! THERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER COMING! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

And it's not like I didn't warn you.

I suppose I can just say one thing

ADIOSITY!!!! HAAAA HAAAAAA!!!!! (Adiosity is MY word that **I** made up and NO ONE can EVER use it without MY permission! P!!!)


	10. Fools In Love

Vacation!

Chapter Ten: Fools In Love

sniff

Wow

sniff

This is it.

sniff

The last chapter.

sniff

I THINK I'M GONNA CRY!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

First of all, I would like—no, LOVE—to thank EVERY FRIKKIN PERSON WHO REVIEWED!!!!

Except for that one person who said that it was kinda funny but not really and everyone acted really weird.' Harsh words. Cuts me deep. I got a flame. T_T

AAAAWWWWW, WHO CARES!!!! pulls out microphone I WILL SUHVIVE!!! I WILL SUHVIVE!!!!

And this ain't the last story I'm ever doing! I've still got three stories—maybe four, now that I think of it—in the hole,' as I put it. There's the sequel to _Beyond the Warrior._ There's the sequel to _A Camp Adventure Gone Wrong._ And then there's this AU I want to do. Oh yeah, and my journal's going to keep going. AndI kindaI kinda wanna do a sequel to this. NO!!! DON'T KILL ME!!! 

Oh yeah, and at this point I'd like to mention that I'm considering doing a Manga version of this.

No, seriously.

I know it would take forever, and it would be a far cry from Clamp's, but hey, I want to be a manga artist someday. I gotta start somewhere.

And it ain't gonna be chicken scratches, either. Ask Cutie Blossom. I'm a pretty decent artist. Or I like to think that I am. In fact, you can see something I did at Piggy Ho Ho's site, The Sakura and Syaoran Fanstation.' It's on the seventh page of the Guest's Fan Art. It says it's by **Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.**.com. But that isn't my s/n anymore, cuz I had to change it thanks to those HENTAIS who SCREWED OVER MY INTERNET PRIVELEGES!!!!!! BLAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Anyway, the point of this part here is that I want to say thanks. It's been a fun ride. I may do a Manga version. And a sequel. Thus says Chinchilla (Chinchilla is my nickname). 

And yet, after all this hard workI still don't own CCS. Never have. Never will. Mokona Apapa, the artist behind Clamp, is a god. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, let's start the show.

Oh yes, and I hope you don't mind. I can't resist throwing in those oh-so-annoying/evil Author's Notes. They only make it more fun.

And so, the post trauma begins

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

"PRINCESS ABDUCTED IN NEAR-FATAL KIDNAPPING

__

Daring Rescue and Escape Leaves Princess Sakura's Life In Balance

Usually, Christmas Eve is a time of joy and togetherness, when friends meet and families gather, and people spend the night with their loved ones. For one princess, however, it was far from a merry Christmas.

On the eve of December 24th, shortly after a party hosted by the Marriott Hotel, Sakura Kinomoto, Grand-Niece of the Emperor of Japan, was drugged and kidnapped by two men whose names are, as of yet, undisclosed. She was smuggled to the bowels of the Plaza Hotel, in the underground portion that was built over after the Great Fire, where the two men reportedly tied her up and threatened her. Her boyfriend, Prince Xiao Lang of Hong Kong, found a note instructing him to go to the back of the Plaza Hotel at noon. 

"I didn't know what to think," said the young prince, his face grim, "except that she was gone, and I had to get her back. That was all."

Well said, Romeo.

And so Prince Xiao Lang managed to get out of the hotel unnoticed, and arrived at the Plaza shortly before noon. The door led down a hall that used to lead into the old Plaza rooms, and had been blocked off. When he arrived at the dead end, it had been broken through. 

"It wasn't the prettiest of surroundings," he admits. "There wasn't much light, and everything was breaking down. It felt like I was walking in the Elephant Graveyard." The underbelly of the Plaza is, as he described, over ninety years old, and had remained untouched for all of the last century. 

After a short distance, he found the princess, who was unconscious and tied in a chair. He discovered later that they had injected her with a drug that had knocked her out for ten minutes, then spread to poison her, leaving her twenty-five minutes to live. She woke while he was untying her bonds, and allegedly was not happy to see him. "She and I both knew it was a trap, but I didn't care," he said with a shrug. "I couldn't leave her there." Shortly after being completely free, Princess Sakura's kidnappers entered the room and ordered them, at gunpoint, to drop everything. The doorway Prince Xiao Lang had come through collapsed, blocking that way out. Princess Sakura was nearly shot, but they managed to confuse their kidnappers and use the dumbwaiter to escape. [AN: AAAAAHHHHHH!!! IT'S RICKY GLASSY-ASS!!! RUN! HEAD FOR THE HILLS!!!] _Sadly, the passage of the dumbwaiter had been sealed, too, and their attackers were shooting at them still. And so the royal teens had only one way to get out._

Many people will never forget the sight of two young adults crashing out of what had been the solid wall in the lobby and falling to the ground from a height of approximately seventeen feet. 

In a few seconds, the would-be assassins had come through the door, and the prince and princess made their escape in one of the glass elevators, only to be followed. After reaching the top, they took the Equinox elevator, then ran into the restaurant. Their pursuers had put bullets in the door of their elevator seconds after they entered. In the restaurant, they unfortunately had several encounters with the servers.

"Yeah, I, like, was serving," explained a waiter, "when all of a sudden this dude and this chick both run into me. And I was like, Dude, what's your **problem?**' but they, like, kept on running." 

Several of the workers in the kitchens were witnesses to the flight of the two young nobles as they darted among them, closely followed by their attackers. After overturning a shelf of pots in the path of their pursuers, they reportedly climbed onto the counter and went through a trapdoor onto the roof. After a moment, the attackers had followed. After dodging several bullets, the two teens were shown that one of the men had the antidote to the poison they'd given Sakura, who was swiftly losing energy. Sakura, who knew that they'd want something like Xiao Lang's life in exchange for the antidote, refused, and they were fired on again. Xiao Lang managed to get the antidote from them, but in the process, all three men fell off the edge of Equinox's roof. Xiao Lang caught a bar that was part of the structure, but the attackers fell approximately thirty feet. One suffered a broken arm, while the other broke his leg. 

When he had gotten to the top of Equinox once more, Princess Sakura was unconscious. "I thought she was dead," Prince Xiao Lang said. "It was the worst moment of my life."

The princess was barely breathing, and he gave her the antidote as police cars and ambulances pulled up to the hotel. The prince and princess's classmates, Tomoyo Daidouji and Eriol Hiiragizawa had alerted them. "I was—and still am—very worried about Sakura," says Ms. Daidouji, her best friend. "We found the letter a little after Syaoran—that's how we say Xiao Lang—had vanished, and all we could think was What if they both die?'" Princess Sakura was taken to a hospital, where she remains in a coma.

"Unfortunately, the poison used is one that stays in the bloodstream for quite a while," says her doctor. "Her body is still fighting it, but all the antidote was neutralize part of it. She may still die if her immune system can't fight it off." 

All our prayers go out to her and her friends and family." Eriol folded the newspaper and smirked at me. "My, my, someone's quite the Prince Charming."

"Shut up," I growled. _I never should have talked to that reporter_ The woman who'd written about Sakura and I when we'd dated' had wanted to do an article on this, too. "Tomoyo, make him go away."

"I don't think we can leave those two alone," he said to Tomoyo with mock concern. "Not with Sakura still asleep. Touya would butcher Chester the Molester over there." 

"Tomoyo?" I asked pointedly.

"Come on, you loon," she said dryly, pulling him away by his ear as he protested. 

I watched Sakura sleep, feeling the worry rise in me even as Eriol's yelps of pain echoed up and down the halls. Five days—five days since Christmas, and she still had not woken up. Her face was so still and white that it hurt to see.

__

Oh, Sakura

What if she never woke up? What if she died? I'd never been able to tell her

Did I want to, though? If she woke up, would she want to hear that?

I moved my gaze to the wall, deep in thought. 

Something was happening when I looked over at her. She was flinching, and I could sense something—but what? 

I held her hand in mine, now deeply concerned. And it came to me: it was almost as if I was sucked into something—

It was like a scene from a movie, or a dream. I stood on empty street, looking into the distance. As I watched, buildings started cracking and falling to the ground, far in the distance first, then closer as a running figure came into sight. 

Sakura.

She was running from it, from something invisible. It was the unseen force that was tearing her world apart. 

It was the poison. It tore after her, greedy, hungry, like a hyena getting ready for its kill. 

Surprisingly, something like hope flickered in her eyes when she saw me. She didn't slow down, and in a minute I caught her in my arms. 

She stayed still for a moment; then searing white power hit the poison and nearly pierced it through. I could see her fighting it, and then something snapped and she slipped away.

My eyes snapped open in time to see her roll over and pull my hand up to her face, now in deep, natural sleep. 

I blushed a nice ruby red, feeling my fingers brush her cheek. When she woke up, thoughshe wasn't going to be as happy as she seemed now. Sighing, I gently pulled my hand free, then gave in and brushed a hair away from her face, smiling sadly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Sakura

I was _so_ confused.

For one thing, I was dreaming. And if I was dead, I wasn't supposed to be dreaming. Unless heaven—or hell—was like one unending dream. If it was, though, both were overrated. 

I watched as my history teacher turned into an elephant and flew away, and my desk sprouted flowers. _This is so weird_

I walked outside, contemplating. Oh, how I wished I could have told Syaoran I loved himand now it was too late

The landscape turned into a rocky desert canyon, my footsteps squelching for no apparent reason. Hoof beats echoed off the walls, and then a cowboy galloped up on a glossy black horse, leaned down, grabbed me by the waist, dropped me in the saddle in front of him, and took off again. 

"Hey!" I tried to get free, but he had an iron grip around my waist. "Let me go!" Turning around, I found it was Snidely Whiplash from Dudley Do-Right. 

The ride came to an end, and I got off the plastic horse and walked out of the Fred Meyer's. The road out of the parking lot led to the highway, and I walked on the side of it for a long, long time. Then I broke into a run, now sprinting down an empty street in Tokyo. The buildings were crashing down behind me, flattened by something unseen, but that something wanted me too. 

I remembered hearing somewhere that if you died in your dreams, then you died in real life. 

__

Maybe—maybe I'm still alive—and this thing is the poison—

I ran faster, realizing if it caught me, I would die. 

Something stood ahead, in the middle of the street. As I dashed on, it didn't move. 

His face came into sight; Syaoran. He waited.

I ran into his arms, and he held me there. There were crashes as the buildings fell down, and the thing—the unseen poison—came closer. _I'm not going to die,_ I willed. _I'm not going to die._ _I don't want my friends to be hurt._

White power blazed out from me, and it slammed into something huge. It was the invisible thing. There was a flicker, and it darkened into sight, a giant black mass. 

My light pushed at the poison, shoving it slowly back. I was not going to give in this time.

Then my power speared through it. The pressure built, and then everything shattered. 

I fell into a deeper, dreamless sleep. 

"She's still asleep."

I registered the fact that I was returning to consciousness with difficulty. 

"When will she wake up?"

__

Syaoran?

"I don't know." I heard a rustle, but kept my eyes closed. "She's over the poison, but her body's exhausted from that. It's not surprising that she's taking her time."

I heard footsteps as the woman I presumed was a doctor walked out. A faint yell echoed down the hall.

__

"YAMAZAKI!"

WHAM!

I thinkI think I'm going to wake up now.

My eyes fluttered open. An almost painfully sterile-looking white room swam into view as I blinked sleepily. Everything seemed tilted on its side, and then I realized I was lying on my side.

And then a headache started pounding in my temples. 

I flinched and rolled over, grumbling. "Owww" I muttered lowly. 

"Headache?" 

I nodded, and a hand touched my forehead. The pain vanished. 

Forcing my eyes open again, I looked around, and my eyes landed on Syaoran. "Hi," I said weakly, trying to smile. 

"Hi," he replied, looking at me. There was something in his eyes that I had seen rarely, something I couldn't quite place. 

For a minute, I couldn't move my eyes from his. Neither of us said anything. 

"Syaoran, is she any better?" Tomoyo poked her head in, then saw me. "Sakura!" She rushed over. "We were all so worried—we thought you were dead, both of you, and then we thought you were going to die again from the poison—and—and—don't _ever_ scare us like that again!"

I laughed. "I didn't really ask, Tomoyo."

"She's awake!" Chiharu, too, had poked her head in and seen me actually alive. 

"Sakura!" 

"Sakura!"

"Sakura!"

There were countless more shouts as my entire class managed to cram into the hospital room, which was a fairly spectacular feat. A few of my friends were crying.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Six days," Naoko answered. "We all agreed—you should've been Sleeping Beauty in that play, after all. Besides, Syaoran would've been a good Prince Charming."

I blushed as everybody went into reminiscences over that.

__

I think I need to change the subject before I die of humiliation. "I'm offended, you guys," I joked. "Six days, and not a single flower."

They exchanged glances. "Umm" Rika started. "Sakura, we had to move the stuff out, because there's too much."

"What do you mean?" I asked confusedly.

"Well" Chiharu frowned. "I think seeing is believing. Can you walk?"

"I can walk." I stretched my arms, then realized I was in a hospital gown and blushed. "Um, anybody got my clothes?" 

At that, more than a few guys went into coughing fits, and Tomoyo and Rika laughed. "Go away, you guys," Naoko said briskly, herding them out the door. "She'll be out soon enough. And her adoring fans are going to want to see her." 

"Adoring fans?" I asked quizzically as the door shut. 

"You're a national fashion icon," Rika informed me as she pulled the curtains shut around my bed. "Here you go, Sakura."

She shoved my clothes in and I changed quickly, then ducked out. It felt like my strength was all back. 

"Come on." Chiharu opened the door, and we walked outside. Some of the guys were making cracks about how much time it always took for girls to get ready, but they died off when Rika pointed out it had taken me less than two minutes. 

Tomoyo led the way down the hall, and they came to an empty waiting room.

Well, empty as in no people.'

Every available surface was covered with flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, chocolates, cards—the works. Not a single space was left for even one more chocolate truffle. 

"The other three rooms are like this," Yamazaki said matter-of-factly. 

I waited for Chiharu to pronounce it as a lie, but she didn't, instead saying, "You picked up more than a few fans, Sakura."

"Oh," I said weakly.

Three rooms? Three _more_ rooms, packed to the bursting point like this?

I swayed as the room spun. _Oh, not again_

I felt myself fall back.

"It doesn't take much, does it?" Naoko asked as I returned to consciousness. 

Only it didn't feel quite like I was in a bed. 

"Well, she just woke up a few minutes ago," debated Tomoyo. "Hearing you have four rooms of junk _is_ a shock. She just needs more rest."

I cracked an eye open, and found myself staring at the wall.

Only it was moving.

Moving my head, I discovered that—to my humiliation—I was actually being carried. By Syaoran. 

I could have died. In fact, I came astonishingly close for the second time, only this time there was no poison involved. 

"Hey!" Tomoyo's face came into view. "You're awake!" She gave me an exasperated look. " I can walk,' indeed."

"I thought I could," I said defensively. 

"And you were wrong," she said dryly. And then she grinned. "And poor Syaoran had to carry you."

She knew all too well that if I hadn't had the morals I did, I would not have minded. 

"It's fine," I heard Syaoran say. 

"Yeah." I stuck my tongue out at her. "You heard the man. It's fine." 

"So, Sakura," Eriol said amicably. "Where did you get the idea that you could walk?"

I started to retort, but to my surprise, Syaoran cut me off. "Just leave her alone, okay?" he said, his voice firm. "The last thing she needs is your running commentary."

"Fine," Eriol replied simply, not offended in the least. "I say no more."

Things were getting serious. Not only was Syaoran carrying me, but he'd just stuck up for me

And he'd—he'd acted like he cared about me, back when we were in the Plaza. 

And there was that time when he'd actually kissed my forehead. 

I nearly passed out again, just remembering. It didn't help that he was still carrying me—my legs had long since turned to jelly.

Everything seemed to be going too fast; I couldn't quite digest it all. One minute, we were friends. The next minute, we werewhat? 

Were we more than friends, like the newspapers believed? Or were we just really, really close?

And I was _alive._ What was up with that?

It was just a little too overwhelmingand I was so tired

__

Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep.

No. I'll just rest my eyes a moment.

My eyelids slid down

"It was the cutest thing I ever saw," Tomoyo teased. "Sakura Kinomoto, sleeping like a baby in the arms of Syaoran Li."

"Shut up," I growled. "Do something useful. Help me with my hair."

"The day will come when you can do your own hair," she said dryly. "And I will relish its arrival." 

I had woken up in the hospital bed once more. The doctors had explained that I was suffering from extreme exhaustion, and I wouldn't be feeling quite one hundred percent for a few days, because the poison had worn down my body. 

Well, for a normal person, it would have been a few days. For me, it was a few hours, thanks to my magic. 

Our flight home, scheduled for the 25th, had been cancelled, and the next one wasn't going to be until the first of January—tomorrow. So, because the flight was also in the afternoon, we could have a New Year's party. Supposedly, Tomoyo had made all the arrangements—including caterers, entertainment, a place to go—while I was clutching onto a shred of life, unconscious.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised. 

"Pigtails? Or just down?" she asked.

"Ummdown," I decided, peering into the mirror. I was back in my room at the Marriott. 

"Right-o." She starting combing it out as I tried not to fidget. "So" she started casually. "While you and Syaoran were busy trying to keep each other alive, nothing happened to pop outdid it?"

"What, did I tell him?" I asked, trying to decide whether to wear bracelets or a watch or a ring orShe nodded. "No," I said with a sigh. Tears sprang up in my eyes again. "II still don't know why he would put himself in that kind of danger, though!" I bit my lip. "He could have been hurt! Or killed!"

"Maybe he likes you more than you think," Tomoyo said simply. 

I snorted, but remembered how he'd kissed me on the forehead and blushed. "In my dreams."

There was just friendship between us, no matter how hard I wished otherwise. He'd said so himself. We were just friends.

__

Right?

"You're good," Tomoyo announced. "What are you wearing?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," I sighed.   
**_"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO WEAR???" _**

I picked myself up from where I'd landed on the other side of the room. My hair was sticking straight back from the sheer decibel force of her yell alone. "That would be a no,'" I said dryly. "You need to redo my hair now."

She started pacing up and down the room, ranting to what I estimated were the unseen Fashion Gods. "For the love of Gucci, you'd think she'd try to dress up every once in a while without me dragging her through every single step, but _noooo,_ she doesn't even pick out something FOR THE PARTY THAT'S IN AN HOUR!!!" Her face was turning purpleand it was starting to match her hair.

"Um" I flattened myself against the wall. "Howhow about jeans and a polo" I trailed off, seeing the look on her face. 

"Jeans?" she asked unbelievingly. _"Jeans."_

"Uh"

"Jeans." She looked straight up at the ceiling again and started ranting some more. "She's going to the first party since she's come back to freaking life and she wants to wear _jeans._ Giorgio Armani give me patience."

I knew better than to ask what was wrong with jeans. 

"I should have known," she said to the air. "Growing up with a father and a brother, you never can leave a man to teach a girl about fashion, I should have known." She ran a hand through her hair, took a deep breath, counted to ten, then looked at me, a glazed, slightly insane look in her eye. "Sakura."

"Yeah," I said nervously. "Yeah. Me. That's me. Me Sakura."

"You are going to wear a _dress._ A _nice_ dress. In fact," she said, addressing the winds once more, "you are going to wear _this_ dress." She darted out the room, and I tried to digest what had happened, absently running a brush through my now-normal hair. 

She returned, an elegant green velvet dress in hand. Like the one I'd worn to the Christmas party, it was also sleeveless, but it had a scoop neck and cap sleeves, suiting me just fine. 

"W-w-w-w-won't I be just a _wee_ bit overdressed?" I stammered.

"Nope," she said proudly. "It's at a house my mom owns for business trips, and it's right on the bay, and everybody's going to be dressed up."

"But" I paused. Did I really want to go? Especially after the disaster at the last party I'd gone to "Do I have to go?" I whined.

"Sakura, let me put it this way," she said sweetly. "It's formal, so that means our dear friend Syaoran will be in a tuxedo. You're going to want to go for this one."

I blushed, but sadly, that cinched the deal. I was going.

"Now get changed," she ordered. "I don't want to wait too long."

It got even better. 

Not only did a fleet of limousines arrive to cart us away promptly at seven o'clock, but Eriol, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and I got one all to ourselves.

And you'll never guess where I had to sit. Or, more accurately, who I had to sit next to. 

Okay, maybe you will.

So Syaoran and I were sitting next to each other—as usual—and too and Eriol were looking horridly smug, and I was ready to strangle them both on the spot. 

The party was in full swing when I looked around, feeling slightly lonely, and again found everything in couples. Eriol and Tomoyo, Chiharu and Yamazaki

__

Well, I don't need a boyfriend!

But you want one.

Ignoring the debating voices in my head, I stepped outside.

Where, more-or-less coincidentally, Syaoran was. 

He turned around when I opened the door and smiled slightly, making me practically swoon. "Hey."

"Hi," I choked out. "D-Do you m-mind if I'm out here?"

"Not at all." He'd lost the coat and the bow tie, so he was just in his white shirt, which I noticed was unbuttoned a notch lower. Of course, it was no surprise that I noticed that. 

Midnight was a few minutes away, and then it'd be the new year. I smiled sadly. Maybe things would be different for me this year.

For once, Tomoyo hadn't had to set this scenario up. _Will the wonders never cease._

"What are you thinking about?" I heard him ask.

"New Year's resolutions," I lied. 

He smiled crookedly, and my knees almost gave out again. He leaned on the rail, but neither of us said anything.

Finally, the silence was too much. "Syaoran—" I began. It felt like the right time to tell him; after so many brushes with death, I didn't want to risk dying without him knowing again.

"Sakura—" he started at the same. We both laughed, and I said, "You first."

"Um" He stared out at the water, and there was a pause. "SakuraI wanted to tell you" He looked—sad, was it? But why would he be sad? "When—when I said there was nothing between us—my mother was calling—and I heard the phone call from Touya, and I was upset because you said—" He stopped altogether, paused, and said slowly, "I was upset because I heard you say you loved someone else."

"What?" I was so confused.

And then I blurted it out, even without the assistance of the Inner Monologue.

"No—Syaoran—the only one I could ever love is you!" 

My hand flew over my mouth, but it was too late.

__

Oh no. Oh shit. Oh damn.

Shit! I just blew that one!

I started to run back inside, but something caught my wrist and held me back. "Sakura, wait," Syaoran said desperately. "You—love me?"

I nodded and gave up trying to get back inside, as it was becoming blatantly apparent I would not be able to do so. A tear silently rolled down my face.

And gentle fingers brushed it away. There was a bit of silence, and then the words came, the words I'd waited so long to hear. 

"Sakura," he said softly, "I love you too." 

Stunned, I looked up at him, my heart pounding. "Really?" I managed to whisper.

"Yeah." 

[AN: Sappy, so you know what that meansdon't get too complacent. Remember what happened last time I had the big confession and tons of sap? Yeah, that's right. Sakura ended up DRUNK AS A SKUNK AND WAILING DANCING QUEEN' AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS.]

For an eternal moment, I could not look away, his gaze holding my own. My mind, for once, was totally silent. 

[AN: AAAGGHHH!!!! RICKY GLASSY-ASS! SAVE YOURSELVES!!!] 

His hand hadn't moved from when he had brushed my single tear away. In fact, I was currently all too aware of its presence against the side of my face. 

And then, somehow, we were getting closer. Our lips brushed as I blushed from head to toe.

**__**

"AAAAAAAAAAAALLELUIA!!! AAAAAAAAALLLLELLUIA!!! ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! ALLEEEEEE-LUIA!!!" 

Music blasted out from speakers surrounding us that suddenly materialized. I felt magic at work and realized with a twang of irritation that it was Eriol.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised by _this,_ either. But I was pissed.

__

For the love of god, is NOTHING sacred?

****

"AAAAALLELUUIA!!!" 

The speakers all burst into flame, then vanished when I twisted a spell in my mind. I would have said it out loud, but my mouth was fairly well busy at the moment. 

A new set of speakers appeared out of thin air. Snapping, I set Eriol himself on fire this time. There was a yelp and a splash and a squeal that sounded like it could have come from Tomoyo, but I chose to ignore it. My hand found his and our fingers entangled, and I nearly fainted. How could this be happening? It had to be some kind of dream; there was no other possible solution. Syaoran didn't love me; we were still friends.

Then Eriol and Tomoyo dumped the bucket of cold water on us, and I had to admit it had to be reality. 

And then this huge mound of fettuccine Alfredo landed on my head, and it became blatantly apparent that this was most definitely not a dream.

__

I never figured out what was up with that, I thought absentmindedly. The noodles vanished and we slowly broke apart. His arms were still around me, making me blush hard enough to keep me very warm. 

"Can I kill him?" Syaoran murmured. "Please?"

I sighed, then frowned. _I—I've never seen Eriol go in the water,_ I realized. [AN: Okay, okay, I know that he really does know how to swim, but I just watched this really funny episode of The Mysterious Play' and I couldn't resist!] "Can he swim?" I asked slowly. 

"We're going to find out," he muttered, releasing me. With a single jump, he landed on the roof, fairly close to where Tomoyo and Eriol were perching, identical grins on their faces. 

And then there was a yelp as Syaoran chucked Eriol off the roof and into the bay, followed by some unusual gurgling noises. 

Syaoran dropped back down next to me. "Nope," he confirmed innocently. "Eriol doesn't swim."

"EEERRRRRIIIIIIOOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!" Tomoyo wailed from the roof. "Sakura, _do_ something!!!"

"Do I _have_ to?" I mock-whined. 

****

"YES!!!!"

"AwwwwBut I don't _wanna_" 

"SAKURA!!!"

A dripping Eriol floated out of the water, gasping for breath, then landed, glaring. "That was _not_ funny."

"Actually, it was," I said blandly. "In fact, it was very funny."

He scowled fiercely at us. "I could have _drowned,_ dammit!" 

"And Sakura could have been crushed when you turned the teddy bear postal, or suffocated when you dumped the crapload of sheep on her, or flattened when you passed the crack that bronze horse at the shrine," Syaoran shot back.

"That was for a _reason!"_

"And this wasn't?"

"I think I'm going back inside," I said dryly. "It's almost midnight."

"Good idea." Syaoran held open the door. "And you're going to want to dry off before you come back inside, Eriol. Can't have water on the floor."

It was almost thirty second away from the start of the new year. Naoko and all the others were gathered around the big-screen TV, watching excitedly, and I couldn't help but smile. To think I'd almost died, and lost this

"Ten!"

Tomoyo and Eriol walked inside, and Tomoyo winked at me.

"Nine! Eight!"

And then I remembered the tradition of the new year. When the clock struck midnightyou kissed someone.

"Seven! Six! Five!"

I glanced up at Syaoran, blushing slightly. It was hard, adjusting to the fact that he loved me too. 

But it wasn't like I was upset or anything.

"Four! Three!"

He was also looking down at me.

"Two!"

I swallowed, our eyes locking once more.

And then he leaned down and kissed me.

"One!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

"Look!"

"Awwww!"

"Kawaii!!!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER?!" 

There was a crash as Touya burst in the door, red-faced in fury. "SAKURA, ARE YOU **INSANE???"** he bellowed. "WHAT THE **HELL** DO YOU THINK YOU'RE **DOING?!?!"**

"Well," Yamazaki said thoughtfully, "judging on appearances alone, she's making out with the prince of China."

Something told me that Yamazaki's decree was not going to go over too well with Touya. 

There was a solution.

It was not one I personally would have chosen, but it was, indeed, effective.

"Shhoooouuuulllddd ooooolllllldddd (hic) acquaaaaaaaaiiintansh beeeeeeee forgooootttt, (hic) and neeeeeevvvvvvvvvvver brought (hic) tooo miiiiiiiinnnnnnndddd" Touya slurred happily, slumped over a table. "Shhhhooooooooulldddddd oooooollllllddddddd aaaacquaaaaaaainnnnntaaaanshe (hic) beeeeee forgooooootttt, and the (hic) daaaaayyyyysssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh of aaaaauuuuuuulllllldddd laaaaaanggggggg shhhhhhhiiiiiiinnnneeeee" An empty bottle was being swung from his fist; it had once contained alcohol, which was now inside Touya.

"If the _oshean_ were _whishkey_ and I were a _duck,_" he sang drunkenly, "I'd _dive_ to the _bottom,_ and _nevvverrrr_ come up." He tried to get up and fell back. The chair tipped backward and dumped him onto the floor as he continued to wail out his song. "But the _oshean_ ain't _whishkey_ and _I_ ain't no _duck,_ so I _dive_ to the _bottom,_ and _alwaysh_ come up. Rye whishkey, rye whishkey, rye whishkey I'd cryyyyyyy, if I don't get shome whiskey I _shurrrrrly_ will _diiiiiiiiiiie."_

"Look on the bright side," Eriol said cheerfully. "At least he won't be bothering you for a few hours, and then he'll have that hangover in the morning."

"Right," I said wearily. 

"Get me off get me off GET ME OFF!!!!"

The seatbelt light went off, and in a moment Eriol was sprinting up and down the aisle, screaming at the top of his lungs.

I smiled contentedly and leaned my head against Syaoran's shoulder. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP THE PLANE!!! I WAANNNNAAAAA GEEEETTTTT OOOOFFFFFFF!!!!!" Eriol burst into sobs.

"Did you know that more planes coming from California have crashed than ones coming from anywhere else in the world?"

Eriol halted in the middle of his fiftieth run down the aisle and fainted. 

__

Crunch.

There was a weak cry of pain as he was run over by one of the stewardesses and her beverage cart. 

"I'm sorry sir, will you please return to your seat, thank you, have a nice day," she said in a bored monotone. There was an unpleasant noise as she shoved the cart over his prone form, and after about five minutes he sat up, his glasses cracked and wheel-tracks on his face. "I c-c-can't f-feel my nose," he muttered. Forcing his eyes open, he saw where we were and bolted to his feet, then started running up and down the aisle again, yelling in acute terror.

The only problem was that he ran into the beverage cart on his way up.

There was a crash as he collided head-on with it, then silence. Sweet, sweet silence.

"Sakura! Phone for you!"

I rolled over on my bed. It had been a week since we'd finally staggered off the plane, A highly traumatized Eriol in tow. 

It was good to be back home. I wasn't quite as much a celebrity as usual, and Syaoran and I were able to spend a lot of time together. Touya had had somewell, _qualms_ about us, but they were settled soon. We'd only had to drug him twice.

I switched on the phone. "Sakura Kinomoto."

"Ms. Kinomoto, congratulations! You've won a trip for five to England!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

::lets out long, long, long, long sigh:: Ah, chaos ensues. ::snort:: And you'd think, after all I've put you through, I'd have the decency to not make it end like this. ^_^ But nope, no decency here. Try some other author.

::ducks as tomatoes and various plant life are thrown at her:: WHAT?! AAAAAHHHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! ::runs around screaming and trying to pull Venus Flytrap off finger:: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! ::shakes it off:: Dear sweet Flaming Waffles! 

Okay, okay! I'll do a sequel!

Eventually. ^_^; 

I mean, I told you all already. I've got a bunch of other stories I wanna work on, and my laptop's busted until I can pay top have it repaired, so it ain't gonna come overnight! 

I think I can give you a hint about what it's going to be like, though. This is something I've had in mind, thanks to my Invader Zim-obsessive friend (Massive Ally!):

****

We all stared up at Big Ben, awed. "It's so big," Mei Ling said in shock.

"I know," I managed to get out.

"There's _nothing _like that in Hong Kong," Syaoran said, his tone stunned.

"It's _huge,"_ Tomoyo said reverently.

We waited for Eriol's comment, and then it came.

"Do you think the king that built this was compensating for something?"

So whaddya think? Funny? Do you get it? Ha, ha, ha?

No, I guess not.

Oh jeez, I'm worthless.

::sigh:: And no one diedI'm starting to feel depressedWell, there's always that sequel

Until later, my faithful readers! Domo Arigato gozaimas to all of you! This has been one of my favorite stories to writeand I guess it really isn't over yet!

Adiosity! Dos Vedanya! Vayo con dios! Au bientôt! Aurevoir! Ja mata ne!

SO SAYS CHINCHILLA!!!!!

Go on, bend my spoon.


End file.
